Researchers have developed a new method to take snapshots of a
human cell’s protein-making machinery, known as ribosomes, in
various stages of protein production. From this they could
reconstruct how proteins fold during their synthesis. Flu
vaccines are based on antibodies that recognise proteins such as
hemagglutinin (HA). Vaccine effectiveness is severely curbed by
surface proteins on the virus mutating. Applying this new
technique to these types of proteins, researchers hope to
develop their understanding of how they fold and develop a more
effective vaccine.