July 2nd, 2009 by Anne Trafton Enlarge An images below of the H1N1 influenza virus taken in the CDC Influenza Laboratory. Courtesy / Centers for Disease Control A team from MIT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a genetic explanation for why the new H1N1 "swine flu" virus has spread from person to person less effectively than other flu viruses. The H1N1 strain, which circled the globe this spring, has a form of surface protein that binds inefficiently to receptors found in the human respiratory tract, the team reports in the July 2 online edition of Science. "While the virus is able to bind human receptors, it clearly appears to be restricted," says Ram Sasisekharan, the Edward Hood Taplin Professor and director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and the lead MIT... [read full story]
