Posted on 09/10/2014 11:17:48 AM PDT by Covenantor
(Blah, blah, blah about Obam)....
(Snip)
Hundreds of mutations
An international research team has analyzed about a hundred Ebola virus genomes from 78 patients in Sierra Leone. The patients were diagnosed with Ebola in late May to mid June.
The researchers found more than 300 genetic changes that make the 214 Ebola virus genomes distinct from the viral genomes tied to previous Ebola outbreaks. Moreover, over 50 changes had occurred since the start of the 2014 outbreak, suggesting the virus is in fact mutating.
There are many cases where a change to the genome of an organism has no consequence.
But in this current outbreak of Ebola - with this particular strain - the researchers found a number of genetic mutations had altered proteins in the virus, potentially with disastrous affect.
The team led by Stephen Gire, a scientist with the Sabeti lab at the Broad Institute and Harvard University, wrote about their findings in "Science". They say some of the changes could influence doctors' ability to diagnose Ebola in the field. The data suggest that "continued progression of this epidemic could afford an opportunity for viral adaptation, underscoring the need for rapid containment."
Unknown consequences
But Stephen Gires says they "don't know whether these differences are related to the severity of the current outbreak."
Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit agrees, saying it is impossible to judge by looking at an altered genome whether the changes will translate to alter the biological appearance of a virus.
"Even if a virus mutates rapidly, it doesn't mean something will happen," Schmidt-Chanasit says. Many changes are minor. They are bound to happen when a virus spills over from one host to another, and especially in an epidemic, such as the one we are seeing in western Africa.
The area of research which investigates the relationship between genomes and the "behavior" of a virus in the field is called reverse genetics, and it's in its infancy.
Schmidt-Chanasit says that if investigations regarding this behavior in Ebola were to start now, they would take long time to complete, and would be of little help in the current outbreak....more at link
Two of my children are microbiologists specializing in genetic engineering & cloning. They primarily worked in medical schools with virus hosts such as malaria mosquitoes and bovine babesio to genetically modify the host to be invulnerable to the virus.
They both have now sold their souls to the pharmaceutical industry. They are the reason why I follow virus research as much as possible.
The one that really peaks my interest is Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, which is a prion disease. That stuff is almost indestructible.
Two of my children are microbiologists specializing in genetic engineering & cloning. They primarily worked in medical schools with virus hosts such as malaria mosquitoes and bovine babesio to genetically modify the host to be invulnerable to the virus.
They both have now sold their souls to the pharmaceutical industry. They are the reason why I follow virus research as much as possible.
The one that really peaks my interest is Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, which is a prion disease. That stuff is almost indestructible.
Bring Out Your Dead
Post to me or FReep mail to be on/off the Bring Out Your Dead ping list.
The purpose of the “Bring Out Your Dead” ping list (formerly the “Ebola” ping list) is very early warning of emerging pandemics, as such it has a high false positive rate.
So far the false positive rate is 100%.
At some point we may well have a high mortality pandemic, and likely as not the “Bring Out Your Dead” threads will miss the beginning entirely.
*sigh* Such is life, and death...
Not dissimilar to Captain Trips, I take it.
PING!
Thanks for the ping!
You’re Welcome, Alamo-Girl!
and possibly sent to all 50 states at once? Inside little children who cant speak the language so they cant describe their symptoms?
Ping
Of course, this administration will do exactly the wrong thing - let patients in so they can spread it here.....I truly believe this is the administration’s biological warfare attack on it’s own people. Don’t forget Bill Ayres and the rest of the commies said 25,000,000 people must die to bring the people under control.
How so?
Why do viruses mutate?http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/technology/faq-how-viruses-mutate-1.780051To survive: unlike plants, animals and other organisms, the only way a virus can reproduce is through a host cell, which it does by attaching its surface proteins to the cell's membrane and injecting its genetic material into the cell. This genetic material, either DNA or RNA, then carries with it the instructions to the cell's machinery to make more viruses. These new viruses then leave the cell and spread to other parts of the host organism.
But host organisms are not passive observers to this process, and over time a human's or pig's immune system can learn from these encounters and develop strategies to prevent reinfection. The next time the same virus comes to a host cell, it may find that it is no longer able to attach to the cell's surface membrane. So to survive, viruses must adapt or evolve, changing its surface proteins enough to trick the host cell into allowing it to attach.
Before we started importing Ebola cases, there was virtually zero risk of any Ebola epidemic in the US. Now, there is a nonzero risk. Some say it’s major, some downplay it, but no one will say it’s still zero. So already, it’s increased — which is VERY bad policy.
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