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I had a sci-fi-plot idea while swatting my nth mosquito on a camping trip last month. What if we figured out how to repurpose mosquitos to deliver useful virus
by gen220 7y ago
I had a sci-fi-plot idea while swatting my nth mosquito on a camping trip last month.
What if we figured out how to repurpose mosquitos to deliver useful viruses instead of harmful ones? Just think about it: no more scheduling appointments for vaccines or flu shots, simply wait outside for 20 minutes in the summer, and before you know it you’re immunized against malaria, measles, etc.
Not being a biologist, I have no idea if this is a plausible scenario, but I hope that somebody investigates it! It might be a very cost-effective and democratic method of delivering care.
At the very least it’d make for a good black mirror episode :)
- coldtea 7y ago>What if we figured out how to repurpose mosquitos to deliver useful viruses instead of harmful ones? Yeah, what could go wrong with this? It's not like those "useful viruses" could ever evolve out in the wild to something more threatening!
- gen220 7y agoA great sci-fi plot! heh But to be clear, some vaccines are "useful viruses" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attenuated_vaccine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attenuated_vaccine Also gene therapy often uses viruses as a vector for delivery: https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/therapy/procedures https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/therapy/procedures So, it's not too crazy an idea.
- brooksyd2 7y agoI'm not an expert in this area by any means, but my understanding is that vaccines use dead viruses rather than live ones, and they need a particular amount over time. So this wouldn't allow the virus to be passed along by mosquito generations, and you obviously couldn't control the dose amount. So not sure how practical the idea would be.