In this essay, a new biochemical technique to combat viral diseases will be presented. Before introducing this technique it is necessary to know the origin of the diseases. Most diseases are caused by bacteria or viruses. Antibiotics that have the power to kill bacteria were discovered long ago. However, there are no such powerful methods of treating viral infection. This essay begins with an explanation of the working principles of penicillin and HIV protease inhibitor, followed by a proposed application to cure viral diseases based on learning the enzymatic mechanism. The other half of the essay mainly focuses on the potential influence of this application on the future of Hong Kong. As David and Michael (2008) describe, penicillin is an antibiotic that binds to and inactivates transpeptidase, an enzyme involved in cell wall synthesis in bacteria. HIV protease inhibitor is a newly developed drug designed to help people infected with the HIV virus. HIV protease is an enzyme of that virus. Its active site first binds to a large protein and then splits it into smaller fragments. This step is necessary for the virus to reproduce. The HIV protease inhibitor serves as an analogue of the correct substrate and can fit into the active site of the HIV protease. The strong binding of the inhibitor causes the enzyme to no longer bind to the original substrate and function. As a result, the virus cannot function properly (Nelson and Cox 2008). The two mechanisms mentioned above are very similar as they both target enzymes. Based on the understanding of the above examples, this author suggests a general way to treat viral diseases. About...... middle of document ......lu/about/disease/symptoms.htm[CDCK] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Government. 2011. Key facts about the seasonal flu vaccine [Internet]. [cited November 3, 2011]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm[CHP] Center for Health Protection, Hong Kong Department of Health. 2011. Why the flu vaccine matters [Internet]. [cited November 2, 2011]. Available from: http://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/miniweb_step2.pdfClincluster. 2004. Hong Kong, an Asian hub for clinical trials [Internet]. [cited November 2, 2011]. Available from: http://www.clincluster.com/hk.html[CTC] Clinical Trials Centre, University of Hong Kong. 2011. Why Hong Kong [Internet]. [cited November 1, 2011]. Available from: http://www.hkuctc.com/whyhk.php Nelson David L, Cox Michael M. 2008. Lehninger Principal of Biochemistry. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. 1158 page.