3 ms·

I would observe that both cancers and viruses evolve very rapidly in the human body; in many cancer patients, a particular treatment grows less effective over t

I would observe that both cancers and viruses evolve very rapidly in the human body; in many cancer patients, a particular treatment grows less effective over time because the cancer evolves to be less susceptible. Adding a virus that may just quickly evolve to infect all the cells in the body to the mix seems rather risky.

Mz 15y ago
This is basically the plot for the movie "I am Legend", starring Will Smith. In that movie, yeah, things go terribly wrong with this approach. (EDIT: And I mention the movie to say that as a thought experiment this has been done before and drew the same conclusion: This has potential to go very, very wrong.)
- rvkennedy 15y ago
  It's a general law in fiction, going back to Frankenstein, that any development that challenges the status quo will prove harmful. Mary Shelley didn't call it "The Modern Prometheus" for nothing - the implication is that to challenge our limitations offends the gods, or God, or Nature. It's a great way to make people feel OK about mortality or failure. And a guaranteed trope - when a TV episode or movie starts with a new development in science with great promise you know 100% by the closing credits that the scientist will have been punished and the status quo ante restored. I would guess that when the first crazy experimentalist tried putting seeds in the ground instead of foraging for fruit, there was a cave painting about how the Spirits would punish the whole tribe for its arrogance.
  - Mz 15y ago
    Well, I'm kind of familiar with that firsthand since my hobbies include getting myself well when doctors claim it cannot be done. So I get called a liar, charlatan, and snake-oil salesman...blah blah blah... by folks who think it just cannot be done. Still, the idea of intentionally introducing a virus to cure cancer doesn't sit well with me. :-)
- krakensden 15y ago
  My mother was working for a (now extinct) biotech company that was developing a cancer 'vaccine' using a retrovirus to do targeted removal of cancer cells. One of the big problems they ran into was that the patient's immune system had a tendency to kill off all of their cancer-killer viruses. So for a while there, they were seriously working on making a virus that would be completely invisible to your immune system- and this was maybe eight years ago. I'm sure there are dozens of little biotech companies in the bay area alone trying to do the same thing now.

Mz 15y ago

This is basically the plot for the movie "I am Legend", starring Will Smith. In that movie, yeah, things go terribly wrong with this approach. (EDIT: And I mention the movie to say that as a thought experiment this has been done before and drew the same conclusion: This has potential to go very, very wrong.)

rvkennedy 15y ago
It's a general law in fiction, going back to Frankenstein, that any development that challenges the status quo will prove harmful. Mary Shelley didn't call it "The Modern Prometheus" for nothing - the implication is that to challenge our limitations offends the gods, or God, or Nature. It's a great way to make people feel OK about mortality or failure. And a guaranteed trope - when a TV episode or movie starts with a new development in science with great promise you know 100% by the closing credits that the scientist will have been punished and the status quo ante restored. I would guess that when the first crazy experimentalist tried putting seeds in the ground instead of foraging for fruit, there was a cave painting about how the Spirits would punish the whole tribe for its arrogance.
- Mz 15y ago
  Well, I'm kind of familiar with that firsthand since my hobbies include getting myself well when doctors claim it cannot be done. So I get called a liar, charlatan, and snake-oil salesman...blah blah blah... by folks who think it just cannot be done. Still, the idea of intentionally introducing a virus to cure cancer doesn't sit well with me. :-)
krakensden 15y ago
My mother was working for a (now extinct) biotech company that was developing a cancer 'vaccine' using a retrovirus to do targeted removal of cancer cells. One of the big problems they ran into was that the patient's immune system had a tendency to kill off all of their cancer-killer viruses. So for a while there, they were seriously working on making a virus that would be completely invisible to your immune system- and this was maybe eight years ago. I'm sure there are dozens of little biotech companies in the bay area alone trying to do the same thing now.