Nanoparticle Completely Eradicates Hepatitis C Virus

Nanoparticle Completely Eradicates Hepatitis C Virus

Researchers at the University of Florida (UF) have developed a nanoparticle that has shown 100 percent effectiveness in eradicating the hepatitis C virus in laboratory testing. Source 2 Cont...

Of course, this is a long way from becoming a treatment anytime soon. A major caveat is that the use of nanotreatments for the targeting and destroying of abnormal cells like cancer cells is always problematic since those cells are “still us” as George Whitesides noted some time back. It’s always a bit of a tricky business to make sure that nanoparticles are targeting those biological processes within us that we want stopped and not the ones we want to keep. Source 2 Cont...

While positive...

“They’ve developed a nanoparticle that mimics a complex biological machine — that’s quite a powerful thing,” said nanoparticle expert Dr. C. Shad Thaxton*

Further complicating this particular line of research is some of the terminology that is part of the press release. They have decided to use the term “nanorobots” to describe the nanoparticles, apparently because that can really excite the general public about what might otherwise be a fairly niche story. That’s fine, I suppose. Whatever manages to get the public interested in what is genuinely ground breaking research. The problem is that it creates confusion in some terribly misguided people who are convinced that we are about to be overrun by ‘nanobots’ that will render the planet into nothing but “gray goo”. Can’t we just retire the term “nano robots” for the sake of human life? Source 2Nanoparticle Completely Eradicates Hepatitis C Virus

(IMO)Seems to early to disconnect the "robots" from the nanoparticles.

*Original Source: University of Florida
Source 2Nanoparticle Completely Eradicates Hepatitis C Virus

So, ATS, your view?

-Post preview is not working for me-

My God... That is the scariest thing I've read in years. I'm entirely serious. I'm not the least bit concerned about what it can't do, like become some Stargate show type 'Replicator' and start getting everywhere. Hardly. What it does do is entirely bad enough.

Now let me say, in a world where ethics were fairly universal and medical work/research was relatively transparent, this would be outstanding news. If we could trust it's use. I'd be thrilled!

As it stands though? They made a vector, for lack of a better term out of a layman, that can clear the body of a highly highly specific part of the overall that it's operating in. They've managed to skip the Immune system reacting at all. Hey, dandy that it executes the Hep C virus. How else can this be ..ahem...targeted?

The scariest thing I've read in years is all that covers it. Anyone who is familiar with South Africa's particular focus in some of it's biological warfare programs toward the end of their regime might recall how similar this comes for end result with only the slightest of changes.

I hope they can make the nanoparticles target the right cells as soon as possible.

Maybe this could lead the way to a nanoparticle that would destroy a multitude of viruses?

Hepatitus C can lead to liver cancer and I certainly wouldn't want a person's family to undergo the trauma and the years it could take to stop it from spreading.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Thanks for your reply! I'll look into what you mentioned about South Africa.