Live data from Hacker News

Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

med.stanford.edu

81–90 of 159 posts

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#81

This seems too good to be true. Respiratory infections kill and debilitate a lot of people. If cranking up the innate immune system all the time reduced illness with no downsides, you'd think evolution would have done it already, but it didn't, which makes me think there's probably a downside, and the fact that the innate immune system is only cranked up when a pathogen is detected is probably because the downside is…

I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps the trade-off made by evolution is about saving energy?

In that case it shouldn't be a problem to boost the innate immune system, as long as you have surplus calories to spend. But it could be something else entirely.

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#82

I don't know much about this, but wouldn't the description of this imply you're stimulating the body to be in an a long-term situation that would be commonly viewed as unpleasant (inflamed, maybe nasal drainage, that type of thing) with the positive tradeoff that you get fewer actual infections?

Or worse. If it is so easy to activate, there must be an evolutionary reason why we don’t have it.

Might be as simple as cost/effect in resource-constrained environment.

Inflamation uses up resources. When we were hunter-gatherers and had to survive ice ages - it wasn't a good idea to waste calories and vitamins just in case.

Better for 3 people out of 30 to die of flu than for all 30 to starve.

Nowadays the optimal trade-off might be completely different.

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#83
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

We've banned this account for egregiously breaking the site guidelines. You can't post like this here, no matter how wrong other users are or you feel they are. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46567569 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46541957 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46540675 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46540551 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46388711 https://news.ycombinator.com/…

I don't care about this ban. But I find it so juicy the comments you directly link as me breaking rules.are direct call out of evil and Christian nationalism and literal denying video evidence....

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#84

as someone with chronic nasal allergies, would this work for me?

Depending on how bad it is for you, I can recommend thinking about turbinectomy. Had it done due to chronic, allergy related swellings, and it was life changing.

TIL! I have dust mite allergies, how will this help?

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#85

What intrigued me the most is why their vaccine reduces allergic reactions too. If the allergic reaction is an immune response, why does administering the vaccine which increases immune response result in a decreased allergic reaction? I'd expect the opposite.

I'm pretty allergic most of the time (lots of birch cross allergies and dust mites), but sometimes when I'm sick the allergic reactions appear to go down. Allergies can be pretty weird.

Well yes, as allergies mean the immune system is acting weird and sees harmles things as a threat.

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#86

This seems too good to be true. Respiratory infections kill and debilitate a lot of people. If cranking up the innate immune system all the time reduced illness with no downsides, you'd think evolution would have done it already, but it didn't, which makes me think there's probably a downside, and the fact that the innate immune system is only cranked up when a pathogen is detected is probably because the downside is…

Evolution is not a perfect optimizer.

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#87
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep! But you are also a mouse who has limited venues in which to complain. I wonder if the vaccine causes inflammatory and other unpleasant responses when administered. If so, I wonder if those responses go away after the last dose, when the three months of protection begin. Here are the two paragraphs that I found interesting: > The new vaccine, for now known as GLA-3M-052-LS+OVA, mimics the T cell signals that dire…

> It also contains a harmless antigen, an egg protein called ovalbumin or OVA Here's hoping the final product doesn't have a side-effect of inducing an allergy to the main component of egg-whites. Although even if that happened... Would it only apply to the raw materials, as opposed to cooked products where the ovalbumin was denatured by heat? Edit: No, wait! What about "safe to eat" cookie-dough, which uses heat-tre…

AFAIK people with egg white allergy also have to avoid cooked foods.

My understanding (not a chemist nor doctor) is that it's specific bits of the protein that trigger the allergic reaction, so eve if the whole protein breaks down parts of it will survive and will cause trouble.

I suppose this is similar to how we use broken down bits of virus to trigger immune reactions with vaccines.

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#88

This seems too good to be true. Respiratory infections kill and debilitate a lot of people. If cranking up the innate immune system all the time reduced illness with no downsides, you'd think evolution would have done it already, but it didn't, which makes me think there's probably a downside, and the fact that the innate immune system is only cranked up when a pathogen is detected is probably because the downside is…

It’s only an imperfect vaccine — broad immune protection. Evolution probably has come up with a bunch of these.

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#89
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Evolution just needs people survive long enough to reproduce. If they get sick afterwards, it doesn't care.

Unless they are contributing to the survival of their offspring.

It can work the other way, too. Your offspring may be more likely to survive if you stop consuming resources once they become viable.

Re: Universal vaccine against respiratory infections and allergens

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on how bad it is for you, I can recommend thinking about turbinectomy. Had it done due to chronic, allergy related swellings, and it was life changing.

TIL! I have dust mite allergies, how will this help?

It basically means surgically removing parts of your chronically enlarged/swollen turbinates so that your airways are free again. Along with that I've had a nasal spur removed (slightly blocked airways); Septumplastic (had a slightly deviated septum that also inhibited airflow a bit); and while at it the ENT also recommended and did FESS (Opening/Widening some paths to the sinuses).

It was a pretty life changing surgery that finally allowed me to properly sleep again, and do exercises/run while breathing through the nose. For some people, the turbinates may become enlarged again after a while, but for me it's been great for two years already.

Post reply on HN