MIT develops powerful, broad-spectrum antiviral

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http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/antiviral-0810.html New drug could cure nearly any viral infectionResearchers at MIT's Lincoln Lab have developed technology that may someday cure the common cold, influenza and other ailments.Anne Trafton, MIT News OfficeMost bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, discovered decades ago. However, such drugs are useless against viral infections, including influenza, the common cold, and deadly hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola.Now, in a development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory has designed a drug that can identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection.