Discovery opens door for drugs to fight bird flu, other influenza epidemics

Image generated using X-ray crystallography shows binding pocket for the human CPSF30 protein on the influenza A virus NS1 protein (brown), with a fragment of the CPSF30 protein (blue) bound in the pocket. Work published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals this interaction is a target for antiviral drug discovery. Credit: K. Das, L. Ma, E. Arnold, R, Krug, G. Montelione and others, Rutgers University and The University of Texas at Austin