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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Science Daily [sciencedaily.com]:

University of Otago researchers have used high-resolution electron microscopy images to reveal how an anti-cancer virus interacts with tumor cells, increasing its potential to save lives.

Seneca Valley Virus (SVV), a newly discovered virus which infects cancer cells but not normal tissue, has become a main research project in the New Zealand laboratory of Dr Mihnea Bostina, Academic Director of Otago's OMNI Electron Microscopy unit and senior lecturer in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
...
The virus is a strong contender for effective virotherapy because it selectively targets a receptor found only in tumor cells in more than 60 per cent of human cancers.

The receptor, a protein called ANTXR1, is expressed on tumors, but it has a cousin, ANTXR2, that only appears on healthy tissues. SVV doesn't bind with the similar receptor on healthy cells -- it only shows strong affinity for ANTXR1.

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