An active biological substance is disclosed for use in abnormal cellular and viral membrane physiologies in human and mammal organisms. The active substance has diagnostic and/or therapeutic properties and contains or consists of at least one component selected from the group of substances including: histones, covalently modified histones, histone-like polypeptides, biologically active histone sequences and histone-like polypeptides as agents for stopping the supply to solid tumours over their blood vessels, for killing cells infected by virus and for killing tumour cells with disturbed lipid asymmetry.