21–26 of 26 posts
Kill the big dog by infecting the body with a smaller disease that is lethal to the big dog but (slightly) less lethal to the host.
So this can either go the "World war Z" way or the "I am legend" way - that's a cheery thought
Oncolytics Biotech is studying a virus that hitch-hikes through the body on certain blood cells, camouflaged from the immune system. Is it just me, or does this sound kinda dangerous? That is, engineering a virus specifically to evade the immune system. As long as it stays un-mutated, fine. But what if a mutation occurs that results in it becoming a deadly disease, with the bonus of being "camouflaged from the immune…
> But what if a mutation occurs that results in it becoming a deadly disease It seems dangerous to me as well, but I should point out that viruses don't typically do that - they are either dangerous or not. They might change how infectious, or which species they target, but it rare to go from harmless to dangerous. It's also not in their interest to be dangerous, it's better for them to simply be infectious without c…
Oncolytics Biotech is studying a virus that hitch-hikes through the body on certain blood cells, camouflaged from the immune system. Is it just me, or does this sound kinda dangerous? That is, engineering a virus specifically to evade the immune system. As long as it stays un-mutated, fine. But what if a mutation occurs that results in it becoming a deadly disease, with the bonus of being "camouflaged from the immune…
My thoughts exactly. Has no one studied the plot to I Am Legend?
Oncolytics Biotech is studying a virus that hitch-hikes through the body on certain blood cells, camouflaged from the immune system. Is it just me, or does this sound kinda dangerous? That is, engineering a virus specifically to evade the immune system. As long as it stays un-mutated, fine. But what if a mutation occurs that results in it becoming a deadly disease, with the bonus of being "camouflaged from the immune…
Dr. House is full of truisms and one pops up here. Doctors are also seriously concerned about the potential dangers of this treatment; however, they have determined that against the risks of cancer it's worth it.
No medicine is risk-free. Medicine replaces an active condition with a chance for a less severe condition. Cold sores (if they even present as a side effect) have a much better prognosis than cancer.
How can they prevent this virus from evolving to replicate in non-cancerous cells? I wonder if that's why they started with a benign virus like herpes. Very cool, but slightly scarey at the same time.