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I want vaccination against scientists working on vaccinations!!
yes viruses can be deadly especially when artificially brought into the game
without any coordination with the rest of creation . Viruses are neither
safe or unsafe by themselves . This one is safe to human but deadly to mice,
Naturally created viruses that coevolved with their hosts are obviouslly
regulated by the host immune system .
This one being completelly forgein ( because geneticaly engineered ) to
mices don't give them one chance.
jean-claude
>>New Scientist, January 10 2001
>>
>>Killer virus
>>
>>An engineered mouse virus leaves us one step away from the ultimate
>>bioweapon
>>
>>A virus that kills every one of its victims, by wiping out part of
>their
>>immune system, has been accidentally created by an Australian research
>team.
>>The virus, a modified mousepox, does not affect humans, but it is
>closely
>>related to smallpox, raising fears that the technology could be used in
>
>>biowarfare.
>>
>>The discovery highlights a growing problem. How do you stop terrorists
>>taking legitimate research and adapting it for their own nefarious
>purposes?
>>
>>The Australian researchers had no intention of producing a killer
>virus.
>>They were merely trying to make a mouse contraceptive vaccine for pest
>>control. "But it's a good way to show how to alter smallpox to make it
>more
>>virulent," says Ken Alibek, former second-in-command of the civilian
>branch
>>of the Soviet germ-warfare programme.
>>
>>Ron Jackson of CSIRO's wildlife division and Ian Ramshaw at the
>Australian
>>National University, both in Canberra, inserted into a mousepox virus a
>gene
>>that creates large amounts of interleukin 4. IL-4
>>is a molecule that occurs naturally in the body. As part of a study
>aimed at
>>creating a contraceptive vaccine, they were trying to stimulate
>antibodies
>>against mouse eggs, which would make the animals infertile. The
>mousepox
>>virus was merely a vehicle for transporting the egg proteins into mice
>to
>>trigger an antibody response. The researchers added the gene for IL-4
>to
>>boost antibody production. The surprise was that it totally suppressed
>the
>>"cell-mediated response"--the arm of the immune system that combats
>viral
>>infection.
>>
>>Mousepox normally causes only mild symptoms in the type of mice used in
>the
>>study, but with the IL-4 gene added it wiped out all the animals in
>nine
>>days. "It would be safe to assume that if some idiot did put human IL-4
>into
>>human smallpox they'd increase the lethality quite dramatically," says
>>Jackson. "Seeing the consequences of what happened in the mice, I
>wouldn't
>>be the one who'd want to do the experiment."
>>
>>To make matters worse, the engineered virus also appears unnaturally
>>resistant to attempts to vaccinate the mice. A vaccine that would
>normally
>>protect mouse strains that are susceptible to the virus only worked in
>half
>>the mice exposed to the killer version. "It's surprising how very, very
>bad
>>the virus is," says Ann Hill, a vaccine researcher from Oregon Health
>>Sciences University in Portland. If bioterrorists created a human
>version of
>>the virus, vaccination programmes would be of limited use.
>>
>>Alibek, who now works on developing novel treatments for anthrax for
>the
>>defence contractor Hadron in Virginia, says this highlights the
>drawback of
>>working on vaccines against bioweapons rather than
>>treatments. "I'd say any vaccine could be overcome by one or another
>>genetically engineered virus or bacterium," he says.
>>
>>Is it possible that research into new vaccines against cancer and other
>
>>diseases could inadvertently create lethal human viruses? Many of the
>most
>>promising modern vaccines depend on viruses to transport genes into the
>
>>body, and contain genes that directly alter the immune response. But
>>researchers have not been too concerned because the evidence until now
>>suggested that changes in the genetic make-up of viruses invariably
>makes
>>them less virulent, not more. One way to reduce the risk, says Gary
>Nabel of
>>the National Institutes of Health, is to use only viruses that cannot
>>replicate. "There are some replication-competent [viral vaccines]
>around,
>>but there is increasing concern about their use," he says.
>>
>>Defence experts are also worried about preserving the freedom to
>publish
>>medical findings while trying to stop the information falling into the
>wrong
>>hands. According to D. A. Henderson, a former US presidential adviser,
>and
>>director of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies at Johns Hopkins
>
>>University in Baltimore, what are effectively blueprints for making
>>microorganisms more harmful regularly appear in unclassified journals.
>"I
>>can't for the life of me figure out how we are going to deal with
>this," he
>>says.
>>
>>The Australian researchers consulted their country's Department of
>Defence
>>before submitting the work for publication, and only decided to go
>ahead
>>after considerable thought. A report will appear in a February issue of
>the
>>Journal of Virology. "We wanted to warn the general population that
>this
>>potentially dangerous technology is available," says Jackson. "We
>wanted to
>>make it clear to the scientific community that they should be careful,
>that
>>it is not too difficult to create severe organisms."
>>
>>
>>
>>
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