"Holy Grail" of flu vaccines about to go to human testing.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20987519-401,00.html

 

If this works it'd finally put to rest all the paranoia about bird flu and all the rest.

[Kyyle23]

Wont a virus mutate to survive a vaccine? I dont believe there is ever going to be a true end-all be-all vaccine, a virus is a tough little bugger(no pun intended )

[YASNY]

Wont a virus mutate to survive a vaccine? I dont believe there is ever going to be a true end-all be-all vaccine, a virus is a tough little bugger(no pun intended )

 

If you read the article, the mutation issue is addressed.

[EvilMonkey]

OMG, the evil drug companies actually cure something instead of just treating the symptoms?

[Kyyle23]

If you read the article, the mutation issue is addressed.

 

LOL, I read everything but the paragraph about the mutation, i should know better

 

Current flu vaccines focus on two proteins on the surface of the virus. However, these constantly mutate, making it impossible for vaccine manufacturers to keep up with the evolution of each new strain.

 

The universal vaccines focus on a different protein called M2, which has barely changed during the past 100 years.

 

It is found in all types of influenza A, including the current bird flu and the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic which killed up to 50 million worldwide

 

They say the M2 protein has "barely" changed in the past 100 years, but that doesnt mean it will not change. If it does mutate though, wouldnt that put the scientists back to square one, considering this virus would be mutating to get past everything we threw at it? Kind of a scary thought

[YASNY]

LOL, I read everything but the paragraph about the mutation, i should know better

They say the M2 protein has "barely" changed in the past 100 years, but that doesnt mean it will not change. If it does mutate though, wouldnt that put the scientists back to square one, considering this virus would be mutating to get past everything we threw at it? Kind of a scary thought

 

You're saying that we shouldn't use the vaccine because it may mutate at a later point?

[Kyyle23]

You're saying that we shouldn't use the vaccine because it may mutate at a later point?

 

No, Im not saying that. Im just wondering about the possibilities of such a vaccine. If you are trying to nail everything with one shot, and the vaccine mutates past that, where do you go from there? Im not a micro-biologist(if thats even the right field, ha), so I dont know how these things work. But I do know that viruses(viri?) have been around for a long time and they have a knack for surviving and doing their thing.

 

And, I have watched more than one science fiction movie/show about worldwide viruses that have mutated into something we couldnt cure.

[Kid Gleason]

(yeah, yeah, it's about AIDS, but it's lyrics are still cool, aside from the poop-chute line. I bolded the line the reflects Kyyles first comment that made me think of the song)

 

 

NOW HERE YOU CREEPS

PUNKS AND FREAKS

I'M TALKIN' 'BOUT VIRUS FROM THE STREET

SPREAD THAT VIRUS

GO FOR HELL

CHECK OUT THE RESISTANCE OF YOUR CELLS

 

SMOKE SOME DOPE

WASTE YOUR BRAIN

KICK YOUR HEALTH OUTTA THE DRAIN

FUEL-INJECTION MAKES YOU HIGH

RAM IT UP YOUR POOP-CHUTE

YOU KNOW WHY

 

YOU CATCH IT ONCE

CATCH IT TWICE

CATCH IT WITH YOUR LOVE-DEVICE

IT'S A MAN-EATING GOD-CREATOR

COLLECTING LIVES

PAYING LATER,

RIP THAT THING AND DO THE RIGHT STUFF

MESSING WITH THE GIRLS AIN'T NOT ENOUGH

YOU CAN'T LOCK IT IN

NO WALLS TOO HIGH

IT'S BUSTING OUT INTO THE SKY

 

VIRUS GONNA KILL Y'ALL

GONNA THRILL Y'ALL

GONNA f*** YOU UP (f*** YOU DOWN/KNOCK YOU OUT)

MAKES YOU HIGH

 

THIS LOVE AIN'T REAL IT'S JUST A FAKE

I DON'T CARE OF WHAT YOU MAKE

GOT A KEEPSAKE OUT OF ALL I'M SAYING

WATCH YOUR STYLE, BETTER START PRAYING

YOU DID WRONG MY DEAR BUT IT'S TOO LATE

IT'S ALL DESTROYED

WHAT A STATE

YOU'RE THE VICTIM, HE'S THE MASTER

BEG FOR MERCY

MORE AND FASTER

 

I'M A ROCK'N'ROLL MONSTER WITH A BASS-GUITAR

MY FACE IS ALL UP

YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR

I'VE BEEN SLEEPING FOR A MILLION YEARS OR LONGER

YOU WOKE ME UP I'M EVEN STRONGER

CLEANING UP THE FACE OF EARTH MY MOTHER

YOU'LL NEVER EVER, YOU'LL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER

BLOWN TO PIECES

DROWNED IN SLIME

NOT WORTH A TOMBSTONE

SIGN OF THE TIME

[Balta1701]

They say the M2 protein has "barely" changed in the past 100 years, but that doesnt mean it will not change. If it does mutate though, wouldnt that put the scientists back to square one, considering this virus would be mutating to get past everything we threw at it? Kind of a scary thought

Saying that something has "barely changed" doesn't mean that something has a 0 probability of mutating. Every single protein in every single bacteria/virus has some chance of mutating at any point. In other words, there are probably mutants out there right now who are already immune to this drug. However, right now there is absolutely no selective pressure towards having the mutated variety reproduce ahead of its un-mutated friends, so any potentially beneficial mutation is simply not expressed in a large fraction of the population.

 

What would happen if this drug were to be introduced is probably exactly what has happened with every drug. It would be dynamite at first, doing its job very well. But eventually, as more parents bring kids in and insist that doctors medicate them without caring about whether or not its necessary, and as the anti-viral drug is put in more products, yeah, the incidents of viruses that are immune to this drug would increase, just like every other drug.

 

That's just how it happens when you go up against evolution. In the end, everyone is racing as fast as they can just to stay in the same place.