Virus Killing Superdrug Developed

[quest7]

new method for killing any virus has been developed by a team working at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology. The drug can, in theory, kill any virus ranging from the common cold to HIV. . It consists of two parts: one part identifies genetic material found only in cells infected with viruses and attaches to this genetic material. The second part signals the cell to kill itself, which prevents the virus from making more copies.

Virus Killing Superdrug Developed | ThirdAge

 

[EarlyMon]

MIT Lincoln Laboratory: News: DRACO

 

[drdoom]

Wow, this is big. As long as there aren't any major side effects, the only problem I can see is a population increase due to a decreased death rate, but that is a whole different subject. It will probably preventing me from being a general practitioner if every other doctor is throwing this at patients; not like I wanted to be a GP anyway.

 

[quest7]

It could be years from now and very expense, at first.

 

[andruoid]

Pharmaceutical companies are so big, make such a huge profit and market drugs so well. "Hey, there is a drug[app] for that" and most people now rely on drugs from cold suppressant to lipitor, etc. Do you really think they'll release a "cure-all" drug. I doubt it. If they do it will be years before its allowed to be sold or prescribed and by that time the news will be forgotten and it will never leave the lab. How's that for a cheery Saturday afternoon thought? ;-)

 

[Vihzel]

This will be a god send for those with HIV. Considering that there's no cure currently... at least this is firm hope for the future.

 

[guyver_dio]

This would be kind of cool for someone in my situation where I suffer from physical symptoms but no doctor can find a physical answer for.

I'm now being treated for mental illness (meaning they've given up and saying its just all in my head). Just about all illnesses can trigger a type of mental illness so it could still be absolutely anything. In this case taking a pill that kills just about all viruses would be a nice 'just in case' prescription. If it makes things better then hooray, if it doesn't then who cares, by the sounds of it there's no side effects found so far.

 

[ninja_reject]

I am sure it will be very expensive. For something like herpes or hiv, worth it, but no one is going to run out and buy it for every cold they get to avoid a couple weeks of discomfort. Every cold is different, nothing will keep you from ever again getting a cold. People in third world countries will likely continue dying of aids at pretty much the same rate, I'm afraid.

 

[chimphappyhour]

Nice idea but it has a couple of problems. First and foremost, this won't help you if the virus is wide spread through your system. This is basically killing every infected cell inside you. The cure could be just as bad as the disease. Second issue, well, that's the troubling part and I'll leave it to y'all to put two and two together and figure out why this is a very scary idea. My thought is that this is something that never should have been developed. People get sick and die. It's a part of life that we should just learn to deal with.

 

[Vihzel]

Nice idea but it has a couple of problems. First and foremost, this won't help you if the virus is wide spread through your system. This is basically killing every infected cell inside you.

Isn't that kind of the point?

 

[chimphappyhour]

Isn't that kind of the point?

It is but the problem is that you need a certain number of viable cells per system to still function if you want to live. By the time most people realize they have something, the virus is usually spread fairly wide. Essentially for this to work like what most people are envisioning, you would have to know that a virus is in your system fairly early. Most people don't know that. That's why stuff like the common cold and flu spread so easily.

 

[guyver_dio]

It is but the problem is that you need a certain number of viable cells per system to still function if you want to live. By the time most people realize they have something, the virus is usually spread fairly wide. Essentially for this to work like what most people are envisioning, you would have to know that a virus is in your system fairly early. Most people don't know that. That's why stuff like the common cold and flu spread so easily.

Just like any drug, they come in doses and are taken over a period of time. I imagine the drug only lasts so long in the system, you would take a certain dose over a course of a few weeks or something so your body has time to rebuild healthy cells. Kind of how antibiotics are distributed... taking all of your antibiotics pills at once would probably kill you.

 

[chimphappyhour]

I think you'll find you're talking about two different things here and it won't work out the same way. You might want to do a little more research on bacterial infections and viral infections. There is a very good reason why viruses are so hard to treat and why this idea is so bad.

 

[Bob Maxey]

Wow, this is big. As long as there aren't any major side effects, the only problem I can see is a population increase due to a decreased death rate, but that is a whole different subject. It will probably preventing me from being a general practitioner if every other doctor is throwing this at patients; not like I wanted to be a GP anyway.

I remember antibiotics. Lovely things, those molds. Problem is, they were/are over prescribed and the things they were created to kill learned to cope.

So now, we have a raft of

 

[chimphappyhour]

I can think of many scenarios that would make this new development a horror in waiting.

Yeah, I think people need to educate themselves on exactly how viruses work and think about the implications of how this kill switch works. Very scary ramifications involved in this technology. In fact, I think the ultimate scary idea I had running through my head was in some sort of movie or tv show. No good can come of this new technique and there is no argument anyone can put up that can change my mind on this at all. It really is that scary of a technique.

 

[guyver_dio]

Yeah, I think people need to educate themselves on exactly how viruses work and think about the implications of how this kill switch works. Very scary ramifications involved in this technology. In fact, I think the ultimate scary idea I had running through my head was in some sort of movie or tv show. No good can come of this new technique and there is no argument anyone can put up that can change my mind on this at all. It really is that scary of a technique.

Well you seem to know more about this than me so I'll admit defeat lol. I won't pretend to know much on this subject but I'd like to think the brainiacs at MIT have some idea of how and when this drug should be used otherwise if it's nothing more than a death pill there isn't much point testing it.

I still think nanotechnology will be the way to go in the future.

 

[chimphappyhour]

I'd like to think the brainiacs at MIT have some idea of how and when this drug should be used

There is book smart and there is street smart. One does not necessarily guarantee the other. You can get really smart people to do a lot of stupid stuff pretty easily. Some people can get so focused on the golden ring dangling over their heads, they don't see those off to the edge holding the other end of the rope.

Learn what a virus actually is and how it works. Then really think about how they work and how this new technique works.

 

[mirindaM]

This

 

[Dark Jedi]

This

 

[_mw_]

no its for those that can afford it.

Slight correction; it's for Canadians, and those few Americans who can afford it. (No I haven't forgotten about the rest of the world, but since we know all doctors come from North America, no need to mention them)