Honeysuckle tea, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, is used to treat lung ailments. Researchers have identified a miRNA as the active ingredient in honeysuckle that targets influenza A viruses. Illumina sequencing technology was used to further test the stability of the microRNA after boiling. Researchers also show the miRNA binds to some types of Influenza A viruses and inhibits Swine flu viral replication in vitro. Sequencing is helping us understand just how traditional medicines work. For more information on applications of Illumina technology in the field of Transcriptomics, please visit us at Illumina: RNA sequencing illumina.com/applications/sequencing/rna.html
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Publication Links: PMID: 25287280 | Zhou Z., et al. (2014): ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25287280 Publication Research Reviews: Virus Detection and Research: illumina.com/documents/products/research_reviews/viral_detection_research_review.pdf The Science Mondays (SciMon) series is brought to you by Illumina illumina.com Illumina hosts Swati Kadam, Ph.D., Scientific Liaison, Scientific Affairs and Jacques Retief, Associate Director Scientific Affairs deliver 5 minutes of scientific enlightenment on the latest discoveries.