Stony Brook Researchers Find Way to Weaken Flu Virus

Computer scientists have teamed up with molecular biologists at Stony Brook University to create a new source for flu vaccines, using a computer program to weaken the virus.

The program can create hundreds of genetic mutations of the flu virus to weaken it, thereby opening the door for new vaccines, the University said in a release. Flu viruses weakened by traditional methods have shown an ability to mutate to re-infect.

"Essentially, we have rewritten the virus' genetic instructions manual in a strange dialect of genetic code that is difficult for the host cell machinery to understand," Dr. Steffen Mueller, senior author and research assistant professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, said in a statement.

The team of scientists found success in mice with the vaccine created by using these synthetic influenza viruses.

The team was led by Dr. Eckard Wimmer, who led a similar effort two years ago to create the first-ever synthetic virus, the poliovirus.