As many as 2,800 genes may help shape interactions between human cells and influenza virus over the course of an infection, but scientists have so far identified only around a quarter of them. This leaves much of the infectious process shrouded in obscurity, posing a challenge to researchers on the hunt for better antiviral treatments.
Now, using the gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas9, a team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has developed a new tool for ferreting out these obscured genes that the influenza A virus exploits for its own replication.
Read more here: https://news.wisc.edu/powerful-new-genetic-screening-tool-uses-pathogens-to-probe-infectious-process/