Finding a Killer's Achilles' Heel: Clues from a Pandemic

October 28, 2010

It has been five years since a team of scientists resurrected the 1918 influenza virus from the lungs of a long-frozen victim. At the time, the Jurassic Park–like feat was both widely celebrated and sharply criticized. Opponents worried about the risk of an accidental (or intentional) release of the revived killer, which claimed between 50 million and 100 million lives in about 15 months and has been dubbed the worst plague in human history. Proponents insisted that the insights gained from a fully reconstructed virus would be instrumental in fighting the next pandemic

A paper published in the November issue of the journal Microbe cites a potential new drug target, among other findings, as evidence that the risk was not taken in vain. Terrence Tumpey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and his colleagues have closed in on a protein called PB1 that enables the virus to copy itself. When researchers substituted the PB1 protein in a normal flu virus with the 1918 version of that same protein, the normal virus morphed into a superkiller: it replicated and spread through its rodent host eight times faster, killing more mice as a result. It turns out that all 20th-century pandemic viruses, among them the 2009 swine flu, have avian flu PB1 genes. Most seasonal flu viruses have human flu PB1 genes.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0655dcbd9027.jpg[/atsimg]

www.scientificamerican.com...

It is a scary thought that one day we may be revisited by a pandemic like this one that happened in 1918 and killed 50 and 100 million people over a period of fifteen months, it was considered the worst plague in human history.

If the scientific community can learn something from this and can avoid another pandemic of these kind of proportions that is good news. Scientists are now working to develop new drugs that target PB1 which is present in most seasonal flu viruses like the 2009 swine flu. We have been lucky so far, the flu scares in recent years have fizzled out for the most part.

Beware the NDM-1.
(aka) Delhi Metallo-Beta-Lactamase 1
the new super bug.


www.thefirstpost.co.uk...

reply to post by Aquarius1


Thank you for the interesting and sensible article. Let's hope they find the key to stopping all viruses soon through research like this.

Originally posted by Blaine91555
reply to post by Aquarius1

 

Thank you for the interesting and sensible article. Let's hope they find the key to stopping all viruses soon through research like this.

You welcome, wasn't sure where to post this, it certainly isn't a conspiracy, I would consider it science and research. I know they are working very hard on this research and that is good news for all of us, also you are right in that it is sensible and no gloom and doom scarce tactics.

Thank you for posting.

I'd think it fits here or Health.

I just hope they are really truly taking all the precautions they can. Still, seems ripe as a target for terrorists to infiltrate and make off with a batch.

I just have that opening scene of "The Stand" in my head...with "Don't Fear the Reaper" playing in the background...

reply to post by Gazrok

I'd think it fits here or Health

Thanks for clearing that up, I tend to look at things from a scientific perspective opposed to a speculative one.

I just hope they are really truly taking all the precautions they can. Still, seems ripe as a target for terrorists to infiltrate and make off with a batch.

That has also been a big concern of mine Gazzok, we are certainly living in uncertain times, I try to stay positive as much as possible which is no easy task these days.

Thanks for your input.

reply to post by Aquarius1


If I remember my Family History correctly, both my Mothers and Fathers huge families lost many of their children to that Pandemic. I ran into a special section in an old graveyard once that took up a large part of the Cemetary. It was childrens graves with headstones with lambs and other indicators they were children.

The number of graves was staggering to me and brought me to tears. I'm not a person easily brought to tears but standing there looking at all those little lambs and angels on these small graves still sticks in my mind. What it must have been like for people to bury their children in those graves.

That's one of the things that makes me so angry when I see people risking their own childrens lives because they have bizarre ideas that the whole medical industry is out to kill them. I wonder how they can not see that our lifespans have increased every generation and knowing that still fall for the snake oil salesman's myths to sell their worthless products.

Even when I grew up in the fifties and sixties I had to endure diseases that no child needs to go through today. Both the Whooping Cough and the Measles nearly killed me. I still remember my Mother putting a washtub in the hallway and filling it with tepid water and ice to try and bring my fever down. The Whooping Cough lasted six weeks and even though I was only about 7, I still remember it clearly. Week after week of coughing and trying to catch my breath, with no sleep and fevers.

Now I see Whooping Cough is making a comeback thanks to the paranoid and irresponsible Parents who put their own childrens lives at risk over some irrational phobia.

reply to post by Gazrok


Well, at least the End will be heralded with a kick-ass song.

reply to post by Gazrok


Do we abandon the eradication of horrible diseases and return to the days of half of peoples children dying before age 10 out of fear of Terrorists though? Is that reasonable? Does that not mean the Terrorists have won?

Your point is well made, but I can't help but wonder if this is not like the insanity at the airports, which I doubt has done anything other than strip us of our rights and has not stopped a single Terrorist. Searching Citizens on Domestic Flights to catch Terrorists is tantamount to an admission the Terrorists have won and I don't think we do ourselves any favors with that or this.

reply to post by Blaine91555


Thank you so much for sharing your story Blaine, it is making me teary eyed, I am second generation American and from what my Day and Mother have told me they also had family and children lost in that pandemic, my grandparents migrated to America around the turn of the century so avoided it.

You also make a good point about so many parents putting their children and themselves at risk today, I grew up in the same era that you did and I remember my sisters having the whooping cough, measles and mumps and how sick they were, for some reason, maybe I have a very strong immune system, I never got those diseases, I remember being upset because I couldn't stay home from school, duh!!!

I think alternative medicene has it's place today but not at the risk of putting people at risk.

Thanks for posting.

How Close Is a Universal Influenza Vaccine That Could Provide Lifelong Immunity with One Shot?

18 October 2010

The rapidly mutating strains of flu virus have so far thwarted efforts to develop a vaccine that could knock out all varieties with a single injection, but recent advances suggest a synthetic solution. The head of Mount Sinai School of Medicine's microbiology department explains

The annual jab fest for the seasonal flu is already underway, scaring needle-wary youngsters and leaving many grown-ups wondering if the annual stick in the arm is right for them.

In recent years research has shown that the mélange of strains in each year's flu shot and exposure to previous flus can provide some immunity decades later to people exposed to closely related influenza iterations.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/de6fcc0e1ea3.jpg[/atsimg]

www.scientificamerican.com...

Because rapidly mutating strains of flu virus have so far thwarted efforts to develop a vaccine that could knock out all varieties with a single injection, they are suggestion a synthetic solution, hopefully that will be the answer. This information lets us know a little of what they are working on.