BBC: A
collaboration of researchers in the UK has been able to create
a fully synthetic vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease, a serious
and contagious condition that afflicts cloven-hoofed animals.
The researchers used x rays generated by the Diamond Light
Source synchrotron to obtain a highly detailed, atomic-level
understanding of the protein shell of the foot-and-mouth virus,
a member of the picornavirus family. With that knowledge, they
were able to construct a synthetic version of the virus
consisting of an empty shell and lacking any of the internal
RNA that makes viruses dangerous. Because the resulting vaccine
has no live virus, there is no risk of infection, and animals
given the vaccine can be easily distinguished from those that
are infected. The researchers also reinforced the synthetic
virus's shell, which makes the vaccine stable for several
hours, even at high temperatures. The vaccine is therefore very
useful in places like southeast Asia, where foot-and-mouth
disease is endemic. Also in the picornavirus family is polio,
which has not yet been completely eradicated. The current polio
vaccine uses a live virus and so carries the risk of
potentially reestablishing itself. If the technique used to
create the foot-and-mouth vaccine can also be used for polio
and other similar viruses, such risks can be mitigated.
