Posted on 07/16/2009 1:51:42 PM PDT by Michel12
You make an interesting case here. I suppose that it could be called a "vaccine" under that definition.
I was operating under the classical definition of vaccine which is when the immune system is challenged with an attenuated or dead bacteria/virus, specific markers on the bacteria/virus will trigger an immune response that eventually leads to immunity.
This is not RNAi technology; RNAi technology doesn't involve the immune system, directly. I suppose it could be argued that it helps the immune system fight off the virus, by reducing viral load. The bee(s) that did so successfully would be immune but of course this immunity couldn't be passed down via reproduction (of course that doesn't happen with any vaccine). The immunity doesn't come from the RNAi strategy however, like it would come from a vaccination intervention.
Anyway, the point is that this isn't a vaccine in the biological/medical sense. Given your definition it could be defined as such, but of course, given that definition, anything that helps us fight off infections could be labeled a vaccine, such as vitamins, hot tea, chicken soup, etc.
I'm not really arguing with you. For me, when the press uses biological terms incorrectly, it bugs me as much as when they use terminology associated with firearms probably bugs gun enthusiasts. It's just a pet peeve I have.
Also, this is an interesting thread to bump.
Sure, I know you’re not arguing and thanks for the thoughts about it. And you should know I was only half-serious....
Don’t ask me what the other half was, because I don’t know... :-)
And another pet peeve (regarding the anti-vaccination crowd) of mine is when I see them fight against the ingredient “thimerosol” so vociferously (because it contains Mercury, a heavy metal dontcha know) but yet many of them will tout the benefits of CONSUMING colloidal silver (ANOTHER heavy metal).
Paradox, thy name is “alternative medicine”.
Yeah... :-)
I found out recently that drinking water is hazardous to my health..., it can cause my death. If I drink too much I can “drown”... LOL...
Is there no more balance in the world? That’s the only question I have... :-)
Those Israelis! Makes you wonder where they get the inspiration for the things they come up with...
*rolls eyes skyward*
Bookmarking bee vac.
Well it’s true of course, consuming too much of anything is hazardous.
I believe there was a case a year or so ago of a person who, in the course of some crazy radio contest, died from drinking too much water (the contest was to see who could drink the most water without going to the bathroom).
With water, if one drinks too much of it, it removes important electrolytes that the body needs to function properly. Usually this isn’t a problem, but if one drinks gallons of it without consuming something to replace the electrolytes, it can be deadly. You’d have to drink a couple gallons in a short (1-2 hour) period of time though.
Most people don’t drink ENOUGH water in a day. Drinks like coffee/tea/sodas aren’t good substitutes for good ol’ H2O, they actually remove more water than they replace.
This is obviously impossible, because as we all know, we owe all our science and learning to Moslems.
I just hope the research was done in one of those “settlements” on the “West Bank”.
Yes, Spain at found it was a bacterial and treated hives with antibiotics and cured the problem.
You mean Bee Settlements?
Israel invented drip irrigation and Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis (BT).
Obviously they’ve found a Plan Bee.
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