ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,359,174, issued on July 15, was assigned to The Schepens Eye Research Institute Inc. (Boston) and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (Boston).

"Methods of predicting ancestral virus sequences and uses thereof" was invented by Luk H. Vandenberghe (Weston, Mass.) and Eric Zinn (Lynn, Mass.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Methods are described for predicting ancestral sequences for viruses or portions thereof. Also described are predicted ancestral sequences for adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid polypeptides. The disclosure also provides methods of gene transfer and methods of vaccinating subjects by administering a target antigen operabl...