It started with an idea, popping into my head. New and fresh ideas just show up sometimes, but I'm terrible at the execution phase. I've 'invented' several things that exist today, although I receive no credit:
The 'Beep-a-Kid' (mine was called, Baby Beeper)
The Personal CPA
The MP3 Player (Yes, I invented that too with Big Lee, almost ten years ago)
There were many others-- fame and fortune, teasing me into wondering what would happen if I just got off my ass.
The other day something pushed its way into my brain, whispering the source for a cure for AIDS.
To
be more precise, a cure for
HIV (Human
Immunodeficiency Virus), the beastly
critter that causes AIDS. I've had friends die from this
disease and if not stopped, I most probably will have
family that will die from it as well. As we all know, there
is no current
cure for AIDS-- there
are some medications that slow its advance and some that
limit it's affects on the body. There will be a cure
someday and I hope that the reasoning below will help bring
about a solution sooner.
Something dawned on me that we were constantly being subjected to strange things in the world for no reason. Sharks, which should be terrified of humans (hell, we kill more of them than any other cause) come up and chew on us every year. Scientists started to play with them out of curiousity and discovered that they were impervious to most forms of cancer. The medical community is feverishly studying them in hopes of a cure for human cancers-- one of the big three diseases that kill the majority of humans.
Another stone in the shoe of the human race is Influenza-- anyone that is reading this article has suffered from it many times and has certainly lost ancestors to this deadly virus-- especially following the 1st World War.
The 1918 Pandemic was horrific-- the Flu was killing people in a matter of hours-- some folks would just drop dead from it. Tens of millions around the world died.
The term Influenza comes from fifteenth-century Italy, when they believed that the cause of the disease was from astrological influences. Influenza, bettern known as the "Flu" is never the same sickness twice.
The
key to the success of the Influenza virus is it's ability
to
mutate. When a virus
invades a cell, it replicates itself inside the host cell,
then bursts out to infect surrounding cells. When Influenza
replicates, there are an absence of RNA (RiboNucleic Acid)
"proof reading" enzymes-- useful to ensure that the
resultant copies are identical.
When Flu is manufactured, nearly all of the resulting
'offspring' are mutants.
This means two things:
Great!
Most of the resultant mutations are benign not harmful to
human beings!
Bad! Since it mutates so quickly, our immune system has a
difficult time 'identifying' the
invader.
HIV
does not mutate at the monstrous rate that Influenza does.
My brain has been trying to tell me that if you introduce
cultures of Influenza with HIV-infected cells, at some
point in its mutation,
the newly-changed Influenza will kill off HIV and not harm
the HIV-free cells.
The
scientific trick will be to capture and cultivate (without
further mutation) the helpful Influenza.
Imagine
a 'magic puzzle piece' that could adapt to any shape, color
or thickness that you require. That's what Influenza could
become. It may be the most important gift to mankind's
survival that we have yet to discover. Our lethal friend
may be at last be worth testing against other things that
threaten human life.
The
idea if very simple. Maybe someone has already played with
that idea and found it without merit. It's still in my head
though-- and it was stuck there for a
reason.
