Scientists at Korea's Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) scientists have compiled a comprehensive new public database of genetic information to enable the detection and identification of RNA viruses using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The database should prove invaluable in combatting potential future epidemics. RNA viruses, which contain ribonucleic acid as their genetic material, cause many infectious diseases including influenza, polio and measles. In recent years, new and fatal diseases due to RNA viruses have emerged, notably severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory disease (MERS), both of which had severe health and economic