:)
Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
21–30 of 54 posts
Re: Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
#22It's really a testament to nature and Darwin's theories that after all the time, effort and money we've been spending on AIDS research, the most successful antibody so far was not created by man, but by his DNA.
I think we're making good progress when you look at how long we've been at it vs. how long nature has. I mean we at least knew where to look for the solution!
Re: Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
#23I remember reading in "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell how STDs like HIV can be effectively stopped before they become epidemics. If this antibody can be administered and eliminate a large chunk of people with weaker strains of HIV, then assuming the stronger strains of HIV are in the same geographic area, a strong campaign of eliminating HIV spreading behavior in those areas could really reduce the spread of…
"a strong campaign of eliminating HIV spreading behavior in those areas could really reduce the spread of the disease."
That's a LOT easier said than done. There's a widely held belief in parts of the world (such as Africa) that having sex with a virgin cleanses one of AIDS. Because of this, child-rape is extremely prevalent in that part of the world. I suppose you could make the case that education is the easier part of solving the AIDS/HIV puzzle, but it's a very large behavioral problem that can not be solved using a scientific approach.
Re: Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
#24It's really a testament to nature and Darwin's theories that after all the time, effort and money we've been spending on AIDS research, the most successful antibody so far was not created by man, but by his DNA.
I Am Not An Immunologist, but antibodies are usually produced by plasma cells, after their predecessor B cells are triggered with the appropriate antigens, right? I'm pretty sure that mechanism and its memory is acquired, not innate. In other words, it's not coded for by DNA, and you can't inherit that immunity from the father. Some maternal antibodies are heritable, but I think that's through shared blood.
Re: Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
#25What happens if we manage to kill 91% of the HIV strains? Won't the remaining 9% of the strains continue to spread and mutate? Then we're back to square one.
At the very least, it could buy a second chance for a lot of people, even if it's not all of them. I'm sure there's plenty of people out there who are not career druggies or sluts who had one stupid or unlucky night that is going to ruin the rest of their lives, and could use a second chance. EDIT: sorry, I worded this terribly. What I meant was there are many people who would not catch HIV again, and thus would bene…
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Re: Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
But it was created by a man! Seriously: Is the distinction that relevant?
Well, on one hand, the antibody would have been created whether or not we'd been spending all this money on research. On the other hand, the antibody would never have been noticed if we hadn't been spending all this money on research.
This antibody, however it was created, will now be a good starting point for tweaking and improvement. Hopefully, it can be made to be effective against 100% (or as close as possible) of the HIV variants.
Re: Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
#27This is fantastic, but I can only imagine that 91% will become 9.1% within a decade, as the unaffected strains become dominant (just like superbugs).
Maybe, but how far forward will biotech have moved in 10 years? Buying time might be enough, in this case.
Re: Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
#28It's really a testament to nature and Darwin's theories that after all the time, effort and money we've been spending on AIDS research, the most successful antibody so far was not created by man, but by his DNA.
I Am Not An Immunologist, but antibodies are usually produced by plasma cells, after their predecessor B cells are triggered with the appropriate antigens, right? I'm pretty sure that mechanism and its memory is acquired, not innate. In other words, it's not coded for by DNA, and you can't inherit that immunity from the father. Some maternal antibodies are heritable, but I think that's through shared blood.
For 'Not An Immunologist' you seem to have a pretty good handle on this stuff. You're mostly right about the heritability stuff, but it's a bit more subtle than that.
Antibodies are built from heavy and light chains, which are in turn produced by a combinatorial recombination process: subunits get spliced together. While paternal B cells aren't going anywhere with regards to heritability, the heavy/light chain subunit repertoire is heritable! If Donor 45 is a mutant for one of those subunits, then the effect could very well be heritable.
edit: grammar.
Re: Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
#29It's really a testament to nature and Darwin's theories that after all the time, effort and money we've been spending on AIDS research, the most successful antibody so far was not created by man, but by his DNA.
But it was created by a man! Seriously: Is the distinction that relevant?
The Nazgul would think so.
Re: Antibody Kills 91% of HIV Strains
#30"'We're going to be at this for a while' before any benefit is seen in the clinic, he said."
No doubt. It is a first step. Good news if clinical application follows from this finding.
As usual, I advise readers unfamiliar with Peter Norvig's article on reading scientific research reports
http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html
to check that for issues that may not be fully explored by this mass media report.