Gotta think big. DARPA is one place that can do that sort of thing.

oh, so that's how they started the zombie apocalypse.

Sounds like a pretty nifty way for the US to continue its biological weapons programs.

Uh oh, better not tell the creationists that bacteria are evolving.

make me some tea: It's getting scary out there, one day antibiotics will be useless against common stuff like influenza...

[not_sure_if_serious.jpg]

MrEricSir: Uh oh, better not tell the creationists that bacteria are evolving.


/oblig

I don't think I'm ok with this...

Although I think Doctors should have started educating people a long time ago about the overuse of antibiotics. I do know that some folks know so much more than medical professionals and aren't going to leave the Dr.'s office without their Rx for antibiotics.

Too bad they didn't invent a placebo antibiotic to give to the people that don't actually need one just to get them to shut the fark up, and use it widely too. Would have to have kept it a Mucho Grande secret though.

You just can't get it through some peoples heads that a bacteria and a virus are two different things and what cures one does nada against the other.

Ah well, hindsight, 20/20, yada yada.

MrEricSir:
Uh oh, better not tell the creationists that bacteria are evolving.

It's cool, it's not evolution when it's just a few allele frequencies changing over time. That's just Jesus' magic finger pushing the DNA around a bit, His ways are mysterious.

The agency issued a call for proposals to develop a system of bacteria-beating drugs based on siRNAs, tiny scraps of genetic material that turn genes on and off.

AW HELL YES. Who knew siRNA could travel between cells through the bloodstream to act remotely? And yet it can, lo and behold. Oh the possibilities.

While we're at it, let's get rid of hand sanitizer. Nobody needs to constantly sterilize their hands.

Could be pretty cool if the delivery system can be shown to be highly specific and effective. No good if you can't deliver siRNA to the right cells or if you can't get it into the target cells at a high enough concentration. But if you can solve those two problems... you could potentially have a system that can be custom designed based on the strain of pathogen, like MRSA, SARS, avian influenza, the possibilities are huge. And you could say goodbye to the problem of pathogen adaptation. What's that little virus? You mutated your DNA at two specific bases? Ok, well I'll just change my siRNA to compensate. Resistance defeated!



But yeah.. the delivery system... could be a total biatch.

annitabonghit: Could be pretty cool if the delivery system can be shown to be highly specific and effective. No good if you can't deliver siRNA to the right cells or if you can't get it into the target cells at a high enough concentration. But if you can solve those two problems... you could potentially have a system that can be custom designed based on the strain of pathogen, like MRSA, SARS, avian influenza, the possibilities are huge. And you could say goodbye to the problem of pathogen adaptation. What's that little virus? You mutated your DNA at two specific bases? Ok, well I'll just change my siRNA to compensate. Resistance defeated!



But yeah.. the delivery system... could be a total biatch.


Oops... showing my genome bias... bah.. DNA viruses are totally cooler than RNA viruses.

No Such Agency: It's cool, it's not evolution when it's just a few allele frequencies changing over time. That's just Jesus' magic finger pushing the DNA around a bit, His ways are mysterious.

Oh, right. I forgot that creationists believe that small changes to NOT add up over time. When they take calculus in college, they get a religious exception for learning integrals.

I almost lost my leg to an infection this year, one friend almost died of a post-surgical infection, and another did die. And we three did have some of the best care.

We need more.

annitabonghit: annitabonghit: Could be pretty cool if the delivery system can be shown to be highly specific and effective. No good if you can't deliver siRNA to the right cells or if you can't get it into the target cells at a high enough concentration. But if you can solve those two problems... you could potentially have a system that can be custom designed based on the strain of pathogen, like MRSA, SARS, avian influenza, the possibilities are huge. And you could say goodbye to the problem of pathogen adaptation. What's that little virus? You mutated your DNA at two specific bases? Ok, well I'll just change my siRNA to compensate. Resistance defeated!



But yeah.. the delivery system... could be a total biatch.


Oops... showing my genome bias... bah.. DNA viruses are totally cooler than RNA viruses.

Why do you hate plasmids so much?

This will all be great until the bacteria evolve laser cannons to fight the nanobots.

Reprogrammable nanoparticles (nanobots, if you will). Great. Isn't that how the Borg got started?

somemoron: Reprogrammable nanoparticles (nanobots, if you will). Great. Isn't that how the Borg got started?

Kind of. But there was this space probe that returned home first.

Marcus Aurelius: How about if we ban their use in chickens and livestock.

Bacteriophages are the wave of the future. But good luck telling Americans they can't have their antibiotics.

Next thing you know they turn to people and program it to wipe out the Krogan race! We all deserve to die then.

what, no personal nanites to keep the body in good shape?

Nadie_AZ: We are highly resilient. Man has endured some nasty times and nasty sh*t. A little dirt isn't going to kill us. A few germs aren't the end of times.

Actually, it will. But the good news is, that everyone who lives will be immune and pass it down to their offspring, hence the species will continue to live. That's natural selection! See: The Black Plague.

I mandate that we should remove all the chlorine from our water supplies.

/Chlorine kills lots of bacteria, even the good bacteria in your body.

Why the fark do we funnel so much R&D through the DoD? This should be under the purview of the NIH, not the Pentagon.

Fark you, Republicans, for determining that all non-military spending is evil. And fark you, too, Democrats, for enabling this short-sighted, fanatical stupidity.

Nadie_AZ: IrateShadow: While we're at it, let's get rid of hand sanitizer. Nobody needs to constantly sterilize their hands.

I believe in being clean. I shower daily. I wear clean clothes. I wipe my ass with paper and wash my hands with soap and water.

Why are we becoming a society that is so damn afraid of germs? I can't walk down a hallway without seeing a hand sanitizer station. It's stupid. If we continue to sterilize our lives, we weaken our own immune systems. We are already soft, fat, weak, easily persuaded by commercials and afraid of dirt. God forbid wewe eat what fell on the floor.

We are highly resilient. Man has endured some nasty times and nasty sh*t. A little dirt isn't going to kill us. A few germs aren't the end of times.

Hand sanitizer is much better then antibiotic use though, Bacteria cant evolve to be resistance to it. The alcohol pretty much just is a guaranteed killer of most bacteria and there is nothing they can do to ever stop it.

But using it for no real reason is pretty silly since you kill your own healthy skin bacteria. However, in labs or hospitals hand sanitizer at every door is a very, very good thing to implement.

FTA: The agency issued a call for proposals to develop a system of bacteria-beating drugs based on siRNAs, tiny scraps of genetic material that turn genes on and off. The idea is to hitch siRNAs onto a nanoparticle, which can make its way into the bacterial cell. What's more, DARPA wants siRNAs "whose sequence and objective can be reprogrammed 'on-the-fly' to inhibit multiple targets within multiple classes of pathogens," meaning they can be easily tweaked and tailored in the lab to combat a new bacteria or virusT-cells, white blood cells, a naturally emerging disease or a carefully designed bioweapon.

/adjusts tinfoil hat
//locks self in room
///orders bullet re-loader and mre's on line

If they have that kind of technology than why aren't they curing AIDS and cancer?

Okay WHAT is that picture sickboy posted from??

NFA: Ed Finnerty: If we play our cards right, we can grossly exaggerate the street value of bacteria and maybe get a new urban assault vehicle out of it.

My colon is full of bacteria.

(giggle)

A ;
I've got it

Ed Finnerty: If we play our cards right, we can grossly exaggerate the street value of bacteria and maybe get a new urban assault vehicle out of it.

MrEricSir: No Such Agency: It's cool, it's not evolution when it's just a few allele frequencies changing over time. That's just Jesus' magic finger pushing the DNA around a bit, His ways are mysterious.

Oh, right. I forgot that creationists believe that small changes to NOT add up over time. When they take calculus in college, they get a religious exception for learning integrals.

I lol'd

Nadie_AZ: IrateShadow: While we're at it, let's get rid of hand sanitizer. Nobody needs to constantly sterilize their hands.

I believe in being clean. I shower daily. I wear clean clothes. I wipe my ass with paper and wash my hands with soap and water.

Why are we becoming a society that is so damn afraid of germs? I can't walk down a hallway without seeing a hand sanitizer station. It's stupid. If we continue to sterilize our lives, we weaken our own immune systems. We are already soft, fat, weak, easily persuaded by commercials and afraid of dirt. God forbid we eat what fell on the floor.

We are highly resilient. Man has endured some nasty times and nasty sh*t. A little dirt isn't going to kill us. A few germs aren't the end of times.

But catching colds is annoying

OK So Amuse Me: Too bad they didn't invent a placebo antibiotic to give to the people that don't actually need one just to get them to shut the fark up, and use it widely too. Would have to have kept it a Mucho Grande secret though.

In a few years that's essentially what Amoxicillin will be.

It makes sense to beat adapting bugs by adapting the thing that kills them instead. But the technology has further implications if you extrapolate it, with comic book superhero implications. Another recent story I saw was about tweaking a gene in muscle tissue that would enable bedridden patients to build back muscle mass without traditional exercise. They have tested it on worms and lower animals and turned them into olympians. The want to apply it to MS patients.
Give it to a healthy person and...

It's the farking Captain America super-soldier serum.