While studying how certain processes work inside the human brain, an Australian scientist observed a disruption in a pathway viruses rely on to spread cell to cell. “That was the lightbulb moment,” Joensuu added. “We realised that if we interfere with that pathway, we might be able to stop viruses from forming properly.” “The study also suggests this strategy could potentially work on viruses with high mortality rates and long incubation time like Ebola and hantavirus. “All viruses rely on exploiting host cell processes to replicate and spread,” Joensuu added.