By Meghan Rosen
After decades of effort, scientists have figured out the dirty little secret to growing a common stomach bug in the lab.
Bacteria found in feces help the diarrhea-causing, vomit-triggering norovirus infect human cells in plastic dishes, researchers report in the Nov. 7 Science.
“It’s a huge breakthrough for the field,” says immunologist Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz of the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix. Adding these bacteria along with the virus to human cells could finally give researchers a good way to test antiviral drugs and disinfectants, she says.