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Using Harpoon-Like Appendages, Bacteria ‘Fish’ for New DNA
- ralusek 8y agoMale humans do the same thing.
- kavalg 8y agoDoes it mean that using a vaccine with a killed microbe could expose the person to danger if he or she already has the non-pathogen variation of the same microbe in their body? What if they acquire the non-pathogenic microbe some time after the vaccination? Is there still a risk for DNA transfer?
- pazimzadeh 8y agoPretty much. Doesn't even need to be the same microbe.
- andrewflnr 8y agoI'm guessing it's more complicated than that with viruses involved. IIRC killed viruses like you'd use in a vaccine only include the protein coat, not the DNA/RNA. Even if that's wrong, you'd be talking about a bacterium stealing and using viral DNA, which is probably not as easy, and not guaranteed to produce a result that harms the human involved. Ed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inactivated_vaccine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inactivated_vaccine methods vary, and some definitely leave in DNA.