A cure for all viruses

[MadImmortalMan]

http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-may-have-found-cure-for-all-viruses-2011-8

Scientists May Have Found A Cure For All Viruses





A new drug developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could cure nearly any virus.

We're not kidding.

Though still in its early stages, researchers think that the antiviral treatment -- called Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) Activated Caspase Oligomerizer (DRACO) -- could be successful in combating any number of viral diseases. The treatment works by encouraging infected cells to commit cell suicide.

In preliminary testing, the drug proved effective against 15 different viruses -- including H1N1 -- yet nontoxic in 11 types of mammalian cells. It even proved capable of saving mice infected with H1N1 influenza.

"In theory, it should work against all viruses," said scientist Tom Rider, who invented the technology.

Rider and his team published the results of their tests in this paper in late July.

Here's the abstract:

Currently there are relatively few antiviral therapeutics, and most which do exist are highly pathogen-specific or have other disadvantages. We have developed a new broad-spectrum antiviral approach, dubbed Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) Activated Caspase Oligomerizer (DRACO) that selectively induces apoptosis in cells containing viral dsRNA, rapidly killing infected cells without harming uninfected cells. We have created DRACOs and shown that they are nontoxic in 11 mammalian cell types and effective against 15 different viruses, including dengue flavivirus, Amapari and Tacaribe arenaviruses, Guama bunyavirus, and H1N1 influenza. We have also demonstrated that DRACOs can rescue mice challenged with H1N1 influenza. DRACOs have the potential to be effective therapeutics or prophylactics for numerous clinical and priority viruses, due to the broad-spectrum sensitivity of the dsRNA detection domain, the potent activity of the apoptosis induction domain, and the novel direct linkage between the two which viruses have never encountered.

[/timmy]




I had to post just for that picture. 

[Slargos]

Wasn't it that drug that was supposed to fight cancer aswell? Or am I mixing it up with another.

Regardless, you were fucking warned:

[The Brain]

Rider and his team published the results of their tests in this paper in late July.

Somehow this sentence works better in the original.

[Barrister]

I had to post just for that picture. 

Good call.

[Martinus]

A truly mad scientist.

[Iormlund]

After digging up a bit I'm really confused. How does a double strand RNA trigger affect virii like influenza or dengue virus that according to Wiki are single strand?

[Josephus]

Will put McAffee out of business.

[Ideologue]

New Sexual Revolution, anyone?

[garbon]

I don't see HIV on that list.

[Fate]

No Ide -  herpes is a dsDNA virus. And HIV replicates via an intermediate DNA template despite being a RNA virus.

After digging up a bit I'm really confused. How does a double strand RNA trigger affect virii like influenza or dengue virus that according to Wiki are single strand?

There are very few  dsRNA viruses that infect humans (chiefly rotavirus and coltivirus). I presume they're targeting a replication stage of ssRNA viruses. ssRNA has to form a complementary dsRNA complex as it's replicating from - sense => + sense => - sense or + sense => - sense => + sense. Those dsRNA complexes probably aren't infective, but more like waste.

[DGuller]

No Ide -  herpes is a dsDNA virus.

After digging up a bit I'm really confused. How does a double strand RNA trigger affect virii like influenza or dengue virus that according to Wiki are single strand?

There are very few  dsRNA viruses that infect humans (chiefly rotavirus and coltivirus). I presume they're targeting a replication stage of ssRNA viruses. ssRNA has to form a complementary dsRNA complex as it's replicating from - sense => + sense => - sense or + sense => - sense => + sense. Those dsRNA complexes probably aren't infective, but more like waste.

Oh, I see.

[Ideologue]

No Ide -  herpes is a dsDNA virus. And HIV replicates via an intermediate DNA template despite being a RNA virus.

  When I've got some spare cash, I'm doing to see if I have either a heterozygous or homozygous CCR-5 delta 32 mutation, and, if so, get that printed on a T-shirt.

After digging up a bit I'm really confused. How does a double strand RNA trigger affect virii like influenza or dengue virus that according to Wiki are single strand?

There are very few  dsRNA viruses that infect humans (chiefly rotavirus and coltivirus). I presume they're targeting a replication stage of ssRNA viruses. ssRNA has to form a complementary dsRNA complex as it's replicating from - sense => + sense => - sense or + sense => - sense => + sense. Those dsRNA complexes probably aren't infective, but more like waste.

What?  Que?  Что?

[Admiral Yi]

There are very few  dsRNA viruses that infect humans (chiefly rotavirus and coltivirus). I presume they're targeting a replication stage of ssRNA viruses. ssRNA has to form a complementary dsRNA complex as it's replicating from - sense => + sense => - sense or + sense => - sense => + sense. Those dsRNA complexes probably aren't infective, but more like waste.

Oh, I see.
[/quote]

[Fate]

What?  Que?  Что?

RNA can either be (+) or (-) sense. (+) sense is essentially like cellular messenger RNA. It can be translated directly into protein. (-) sense is the complementary strand; it would have to be transcribed before it could be recognized by cellular translation machinery.

If a (+)ssRNA virus like polio wants to replicate, it must first transcribe a (-)ssRNA template. Then that (-)ssRNA template is run through transcription machinery ad naseum to create an army of new (+)ssRNA viruses. You can't go directly from (+) => (+). So at some point there's double stranded RNA floating around the infected cell, which this drug recognizes.

[Ideologue]

Replevin.  Trover.  Ius cogens.  Res iudicata.  Strict scrutiny.  Voir dire.






No, I'm kidding.  I think I sort of get it.