Viruses lack the internal machinery needed for self-sufficient replication; instead infectious agents such as influenza duplicate by finding and hijacking the machinery of living cells--typically lung cells in the case of influenza. The virus identifies the proper cell type by only binding to the specific receptors that coat the outside of that cell. In an attempt to slow this replication rate, we can make "decoy" cells that are covered in the proper receptors and look like healthy cells from the outside, but are actually nothing more than hollow shells, incapable of helping the virus reproduce. The survival rate of individuals infected with lethal respiratory pathogens can be improved by the introduction of these therapeutic decoy liposomes.
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