Potential Cure for Viruses and AIDS Discovered!

GoldenCondor

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http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-02/lj001-acts-antibiotics-viruses

Popular Science said:
Unlike antibiotics, which kill many different types of bacteria, antiviral drugs for the most part need to target individual, specific viruses. A drug that attacks a multitude of viruses -- an antibiotic for viruses, effectively -- would be a significant boon for medicine. And a group of researchers led by UCLA scientists just may have discovered exactly that.
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers describe an early proof-of-concept study on a chemical they call LJ001. The chemical attacks the structure of viruses themselves, and may potentially cure a wide swath of disease ranging from influenza to AIDS to Ebola. For all the complexity of the diseases they cause, viruses are very simple; just a bunch of DNA in a lipid sack. LJ001 attacks that lipid sack, as well as the lipid membrane of healthy cells. But whereas the healthy cells can easily repair the damage, the inert viruses simply fall apart.
Previous attempts at creating wide-spectrum anti-viral drugs have largely failed. Some are in use, but they are very expensive, and because they work by attacking RNA and DNA replication, they often carry significant side effects. By attacking the structure of the viruses, not the replication, LJ001 may end up as the first drug in a new age of medicine.
This is a super breakthrough in medicine, but this also would have negative effects, such as decrease in the human's natural immunity to viruses, as in getting the flu would fuck you over.
What do you think about this discovery?
 

El Poncho

Techno Hippy will eat your soul!
May 21, 2009
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I heard about this a while ago, but yeah. Pretty awesome.
 

aPod

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If it cures aids then im all for it. Less crap to be worried about.
 

TriGGeR_HaPPy

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May 22, 2008
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Pretty sweet, really. If it works like they want it to, of course. :p

Here's hoping it works without too many repercussions. o_O
 

Necrofudge

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May 17, 2009
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Cure for AIDS = good.
Cure for all Viruses = bad.

What is the point of a cure for AIDS if your immune system will be worthless anyway? Curing viruses will give future generations the same defense against illness that Freddie Mercury had(sorry about that). A simple cough could kill someone. I'd rather just keep some viruses around to ensure that at least some remnant of "survival of the fittest" stays put.
 

Sir_Tor

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Nov 29, 2009
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Even if it did cure AIDS it wouldn't get to the people who really needs it. Attacking the DNA of the virus? Hmm, I am Legend anyone? :)
 

Zacharine

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I doubt the side-effects will be so benign as to be dismissed as 'body can repair it'.

Gentlemen, this is the proverbial biological nuke, to be used against a proverbial ants nest on someones backyeard.

It doesn't just kill the target virus, but everything and your kidneys, liver, brain tissue and heart to boot. Or at least, will do its damnest to try. Highly refined, this method might work, but we are decades short of that.

So don't expect a cure for HIV to crop up anytime soon.
 

Disaster Button

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Feb 18, 2009
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GoldenCondor said:
Disaster Button said:
This is all because of SCIENCE!
And not religion!

Is that the response you wanted?
Whilst it could be true that religion isn't responsible I wasn't really expecting a response of any kind. I just like saying.. *ahem* *clears throat* SCIENCE!
 

Godavari

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It seems that this would really screw with your body, at least for a while.

I'm interested to see how it preforms in testing.
 

GoldenCondor

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Khell_Sennet said:
This is perhaps the tenth or eleventh "miracle cure" I've heard of in the last two or three years. The thing is, I have yet to see even one of them come through. I don't think it's from failure; call me paranoid but I know that there is just too much money in treating illness for the drug companies to ever allow a cure-all to make it to human testing.
You're right, as demented and opposing human nature as it sounds and leaning more into animal behavior; it's survival of the fittest. Those who die, die. Those that don't get ill, move on and reproduce. We shouldn't really be spending ALL of this money and time on those sick or already prone to death, or at least we should have free medical research.
 

SnootyEnglishman

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May 26, 2009
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If the product proves successful after the initial testing then this could be the biggest medical breakthrough since Jonas Salk finding the cure for Polio
 

Souplex

Souplex Killsplosion Awesomegasm
Jul 29, 2008
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While I am all for curing things, I also believe we need to get the earths population under control. It is so hard to be ethical.
 

iLikeHippos

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Jan 19, 2010
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! They're going to erase most of my parting lines!

This is serious!

No really, good job finding a cure once more, doc. *Munches on a carrot*