Smallpox, a once highly lethal contagious disease, has been eradicated worldwide. However, research continues with stored samples of variola, the smallpox virus, because it is a potential weapon in bioterrorism. Human cells protect themselves from the variola virus (and other viruses) by activating genes that encode protective proteins. It has recently been discovered that in response to variola, human cells create small transitory stretches of Z-DNA at sites that regulate these genes. The smallpox virus can bypass this cellular defense mechanism by specifically targeting the segments of Z-DNA and inhibiting the synthesis of the protective proteins. This discovery raises some interesting questions:
How could this research lead to the development of drugs to combat infection by variola and related viruses?
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