In a paper published Feb. 28 in the journal eLife, a team of researchers headed by Princeton’s Alexander Ploss settle a debate about a key protein in hepatitis E (Hep E), which could open the way to developing treatments for a tiny virus that poses an outsized threat to public health around the globe. In their paper, the researchers present a new model that details the structure and function of a Hep E protein. “Hepatitis E is a poorly understood RNA virus that is responsible for about 3 million symptomatic infections and around 70,000 deaths per year,” said Ploss, a professor in Princeton’s Department of Molecular Biology. To read the full story.