Science / Medicine : Single-Stranded DNA Mapped
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Purdue University researchers have made the first map of a virus that contains only single-stranded DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, the genetic blueprint of life). Last week in the journal Science they published a picture of canine parvovirus, which produces an often fatal disease of young dogs characterized by vomiting, diarrhea and loss of appetite.
The canine virus belongs of a family of viruses that can cause serious problems in young humans, including a fatal heart disease called myocarditis, as well as miscarriages in women who are infected during pregnancy.
Biologist Michael G. Rossmann said he hoped that knowledge of the structure of the virus would lead to new ways to attack it.
