Jump to content
🌙 COLDPLAY ANNOUNCE MOON MUSIC OUT OCTOBER 4TH 🎵

Creative solutions to AIDS


chuck kottke

Recommended Posts

I turned on the UCTV channel on my TV, and lo and behold, a professor explaining the difficulties with AIDS research! So, naturally with an interest in Biochemistry, I decided to sit and listen. What struck me is this: conventional vaccine approaches seem to be having difficulty curing the disease, or slowing its transmission. So, I began to wonder what else might work? Obviously prevention is #1 beyond all else, but that's not going to help those already infected, nor those who may become infected by other means (newborns, etc.).

So, I began to ponder the possibilities. What if, instead of a vaccine that aims to get a smarter immune response, what if we engineered a virus that would infect the immune system and insert itself into the DNA, and simultaneously act as an ideal site for the retrovirus to insert, but also produce an excision protein to deactivate the retroviruses ability to jump out of the host cell's DNA?

Another thought I had is this: HIV is probably not new, in as far as there must have been numerous retroviruses throughout history, and yet somehow the human population hasn't been wiped out. Pehaps that's because if any population did catch it, then they would be isolated enough that their disappearance would have spelled the end of that immune system retrovirus. Or maybe not - maybe some mechanism does exist that can control a retrovirus like HIV? Our DNA is chock full of viral DNA that has lost it's ability to jump back out of the DNA, and so ends up coming along for the ride for eons. Perhaps some of these are retroviruses that had the ability to attack the immune system, but got locked into our DNA and can no longer exit?

It's an interesting question - immune system retroviruses cannot be new, but then what in nature held them in check?? And can we change DNA to nab the retroviral HIV DNA and thus capture it permenantly in the cells?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

**After listening to Helen Epstein, the problem is actually linked to multiple heterosexual partners, which is common in some African countries, and to men having sex outside of those partnerships. Combine that with economic frustrations (unemployment and economic upheaval), the changing status of relationships (from polygamous to monogamous), and arguments over fidelity within relationships, and a certain level of male aggression apparently has caused the spread, aided by the networks of these multiple partners. While rape is a component as well as childbirth infections, it's more important to recognise the social issues driving most of the infections. But the selling of bushmeat taken from the jungles presents the possibility of whole new strains being introduced into the human population. The virus may mutate to the point where transmission occurs through another carrier, such as mosquitoes or bacteria, or even other viruses, so even for those who practice safe sex or monogamy, a disease existing in the human population that shows a high propensity towards mutations could be a real problem in time. This is the case with Tuberculosis, and the same might be true for HIV.

In terms of what it means to millions in the world's poorest areas, diseases like AIDS, malaria, dengue fever, and cholera sap the strength and ability of those people to rise out of poverty. So, to end poverty is also to help eradicate disease and to educate the people simultaneously.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This breaking news...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLf-DC4HV6o]YouTube - Possible HIV Cure?[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSPk8K5zK3I&NR=1]YouTube - HIV/AIDS expert Helen Epstein on "The Invisible Cure"[/ame]

It's worth the while to listen to Helen Epstein, as I believe she has a firm grasp of the real reasons for the disease's spread, and offers a more rational approach to control.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^That's good advice, but what has been happening is that in African society, polygamy of sorts is not uncommon in some parts, and in those social groups it's a higher statistical probability that even if everyone is as trustworthy as they are anywhere else, the one or two untrustworthy people who are being dishonest with their partners are spreading the disease to those who are being faithful within the group. Polygamous groups statistically have a higher probability of connections outside a given group, and this has caused the disease to spread more rapidly. Also, since relationships change, people cannot determine a person's whole history so easily.

But considering some of the sex is forced, it's a major factor contributing to the spread as well. Issues about preventing violence and women's rights are critical to combating the spread of the disease, as well as reducing poverty and dislocation in the continent. Monogamy as a concept is spreading too, and this does help reduce the ability of the disease to spread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone said inject all the world leaders with it and we'd have a cure within a year...

 

lol, Nick I've come up with better zingers than that!

 

Anyway, Chuck correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't we started to see the decline of the incidence of AIDS? Or is that only in the developed world?

 

BTW, speaking of fun diseases, I read recently that Alzheimer's might actually be caused by herpes!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jay, Alzheimer's being cause by Herpes?? Well, it could be true, but I haven't followed the progress on research with that disease - I'll have to check on that. My understanding was that the protein plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients were associated with aluminum compounds, but at the time nobody knew if it was the cause, or some side-effect - possibly the increased permeability of the barrier membrane for the brain, or aluminum compounds were simply adhering to the protein plaques. But the information stopped me from using aluminum cookware, and avoiding aluminum salts used in some baking powders. I've noticed they've discontinued using the aluminum compound (aluminum pyrophosphate I think) in most baking powders, and soluble form aluminum compounds are unusual in nature, so this may help reduce future cases of Alzheimers. But as far as Herpes causing Alzheimers, hmm.. Where did you read about it, Jay?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i reckon the whole reason aids exists is so we dont go having sex with so many other people. Just a theory

 

This is how religious people think about most aspects of life - "Well, there must be a reason for so-and-so..." But trust me, it's far better to realize that certain things in life are just unfortunate byproducts of living in a physical world rather than a divine "lesson" you are being taught.

 

Think of labor, and the story of Adam and Eve. For years, people thought man's punishment for taking a bite of the apple was to work hard for the rest of his life. But then we discovered agriculture, domestication of animals, and the benefits of trade/specialization. Suddenly the % of our lives dedicated to work was cut by a great deal.

 

Eve's punishment was the pain of childbirth, and we figured out how to do C-sections with relative ease and in sterile environments.

 

Human beings have a tendency to figure out little tricks to get around God's wraths. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jay, it's quite an interesting thing to finally understand! So apparently a helper gene exists, that allows the Herpes simplex virus (cold sore version) to become active in the brain of Alzheimer's patients. I'm not sure how prevalent the gene is in people, but according to one article, roughly 80% of us carry the Herpes virus, laying dormant (latent) for long periods of time. Maybe stress is a factor as well - when we're under too much stress, the virus is triggered into activity (hence cold sores at times) and perhaps this could cause the same effect if the virus gets into people's brains as well. Hmm.. another argument for stress reduction, especially in older folks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To the Escapist (Bryce)

I think God or whatever you wish to consider the consciousness we have, and thus the consciousness within the Universe, gave us the smarts to combat diseases, as there's no correlation between ethics and disease, except for the lack of incentives towards sanitation in the world, sometimes the result of neglect. Considering the indiscriminate nature of most diseases (Influenza, Polio, Malaria, Black Plague), the argument is not valid, except in the case of HIV, it is transmitted from person to person most commonly through various partners, but this can happen on a level of time where relationships often do change. Natural selection in the past may have favored a lessening of multiple partners if diseases like AIDS were present, but for a variety of other social reasons societies structure themselves in certain ways, so I wonder even about that. Today we need not ascribe such a horrible fate to anyone for any reason, as it's unnecessary and contrary to the real reasons these diseases exist - they, as we are, are simply part of the evolutionary process, and we have evolved with them for millions of years; in fact, viruses, probably many retroviruses, are permanently part of the structure of our DNA, and may have given us some of the traits we have, as yet another mechanism for the transmission of protein-coding DNA strands. Funny, if you think of it in the longer time frame - the viruses that threaten us today may be relatives of the bits of DNA we rely on for cellular mechanism for our very survival..:laugh3: Maybe the ultimate twist of fate!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...