"It appears to have few negative consequences..."
I invoke the law of unintended consequences. A fine example would be "so sorry it killed test subject 1337, apparently that particular genetic mutation in his DNA looked like a disease."
Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
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Re: Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
#12The science was previously posted here - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2847675 (extensive relevant discussion included).
I think the biographical info here is fascinating though!
Re: Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
#13> For his PhD thesis, he proved that a working hot fusion reactor would either consume more energy than it generates or spew as much radiation as existing nuclear power plants—a finding that did not endear him to many physicists and cut off some career options. The science field doesn't really work like this, does it? You'd think if he definitively proved a particular thing there wouldn't be any animosity about it to…
Oh, you mean the sentence about how the eccentric scientist has been persecuted by the establishment for his contrarian work? To me, that sounds so much like the output of a journalist's nearest-cliche algorithm that it's impossible to say whether there's any truth in it, or how much.
Thank you. Sometimes I wish journalists writing about scientists were subject to the same peer-review process that scientists are. E.g.,
"One binds to viral double-stranded ribonucleic acid, a type of molecule found in all viruses."
Goddamnit, no it isn't (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus#Baltimore_classification). Some viruses contain DNA, not RNA, in the capsid. The proposed treatment acts on dsRNA made after the virus has entered the cell, and the only hope of it working on DNA viruses is if sufficient dsRNA is produced during transcription of the viral genome (I'm not convinced—the citations for this in Rider's paper are weak).
Re: Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
#14"It appears to have few negative consequences..." I invoke the law of unintended consequences. A fine example would be "so sorry it killed test subject 1337, apparently that particular genetic mutation in his DNA looked like a disease."
Yes, I truly hope that these proteins do work as intended, but a part of me thinks "what about obscure virus X, which is capable of easily infecting most cells in a body but doesn't exhibit any negative effects on health?" If such a virus existed then these proteins, administered in significant enough amounts, would kill a person infected with virus X.
Re: Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
#15He sounds like a Feynman in formation.
Re: Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
#16We don't know of any viruses that are directly beneficial to the human body, as we know of beneficial bacteria; so it's an amazing idea.
On the other hand, Nathan Wolfe http://www.gvfi.org/wolfe/ , virus expert, believes that if all viruses were wiped out, humanity would not last long at all. If this drug were excreted or discarded into water supplies, we may begin destroying our viral population, with unintended effect.
Still, leads one to wonder what more highly targeted applications could be created. Parasites, specific bacteria, etc. Exciting times.
Re: Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
#17"It appears to have few negative consequences..." I invoke the law of unintended consequences. A fine example would be "so sorry it killed test subject 1337, apparently that particular genetic mutation in his DNA looked like a disease."
Yes, I truly hope that these proteins do work as intended, but a part of me thinks "what about obscure virus X, which is capable of easily infecting most cells in a body but doesn't exhibit any negative effects on health?" If such a virus existed then these proteins, administered in significant enough amounts, would kill a person infected with virus X.
Nah you would be given a dosage large enough just to kill the invading virus. It could hurt the person, but killing them is unlikely. Actually wrote a paper on a something similar I came up with back in undergrad using HIV.
Re: Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
#18This is how almost every movie about an apocalyptic mass pandemic starts.
Re: Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
#19> For his PhD thesis, he proved that a working hot fusion reactor would either consume more energy than it generates or spew as much radiation as existing nuclear power plants—a finding that did not endear him to many physicists and cut off some career options. The science field doesn't really work like this, does it? You'd think if he definitively proved a particular thing there wouldn't be any animosity about it to…
Umm, the advantage if fusion is how much radiation is being produced from the waste products over time not how much radiation is being produces while it's running. All nuclear reactions be they fission or fusion release their energy as radiation either high energy photons or chunks of matter being blown from the nucleus at high energy levels. So, I really don't think the details of what was actually said are being summarized vary well.
EX: D+T fusion = 2 protons + 3 neutrons one of which does not get to stick around and 17.59 MeV worth of energy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Deuterium-tritium_fusion.s... (The diffrence in energy comes from the conservation of momentum. ~1/4th the mass needs to go ~4x as fast to have the same momentum which takes ~4x the energy {e=v^2 x m=(4)^2 x (1/4)=4}.)
Re: Computer Scientist Creates Kill-Switch for Biological Viruses
#20"By splicing jellyfish genes into white blood cells—nature’s front line against viral invaders—he created a biological sensor that glows in the presence of disease." That is so awesome. :D
The "jellyfish genes" in question are probably GFP[1] (Green fluorescent protein), which has been spliced into many organisms. You can even buy fish with the gene[2].
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_fluorescent_protein [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GloFish