MemoryStone

Sequences capture the code of the common cold

A multi-institutional team of researchers has deciphered the complete genetic sequences of all of the world’s 99 known strains of human rhinovirus, the viruses responsible for the common cold. The sequences provide a detailed blueprint for the virus, showing how new strains develop and revealing pressure points that may lead to new antiviral drugs. Here, a rhinovirus particle at atomic resolution is superimposed over a representation of the RNA molecule that encodes the virus genome. Image courtesy Ann Palmenberg, Jean-Yves Sgro and H. Adam Steinberg