5 ms·

I wonder if such a virus domestication could be somehow done in-vitro. Probably would only make sense at the very beginning of a (new) pandemic.

by ginko 3y ago

dheera 3y ago
Even if it were possible, it wouldn't control the ones circulating in the wild.
- ginko 3y ago
  The idea would be that the "domesticated" variant is more infectious so it would outcompete the wild ones.
  - ramesh31 3y ago
    >The idea would be that the "domesticated" variant is more infectious so it would outcompete the wild ones. This is precisely what the gain-of-function research that was happening in Wuhan tried to do. Whether that was a good idea or not is now questionable.
    - 9question1 3y ago
      Actually, gain of function research that's been criticized has been criticized mainly for increasing virulence. The post you're responding to here is asking about in vitro research to decrease virulence.
  - 9question1 3y ago
```if ... virus domestication could be somehow done in-vitro``` This is basically the definition of a vaccine, except that the vaccine has 0 infectiousness and near 0 virulence, rather than high infectiousness and near 0 virulence
- peteradio 3y ago
  > and near 0 virulence Covid vaccine does not have near 0 side-effects.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- dheera 3y ago
  I suppose if you could make it more infectious AND less serious AND have similar proteins so as to elicit antibodies that are also effective against the wild one, that would be a very interesting an possibly much more cost-effective way to "vaccinate" everyone. That's a very big if though, and it might be dangerous research to pursue with our current level of scientific knowledge about these things (you could create a 2nd simultaneous pandemic if you don't succeed at the "less serious" part). But maybe at some point in the future it might make sense.
  - samus 3y ago
    All of this has been done for a long time. There are numerous such attenuated vaccines that consist of an artificially bred non-virulent version of the illness, for example the oral vaccine against Polio. Yes, there is a risk that these attenuated agents cause epidemics by themselves, thus vaccination campaigns employing them require close monitoring. Actually, most remaining cases of Polio originate from such attenuated vaccines, while "wild" Polio is nearing extinction.
samus 3y ago
This is a very common approach and is called an attenuated vaccine[0]. The oral Polio vaccine is such an agent. But it only works if the virus can't out-evolve the vaccine, the immunity is long-lasting, and if the risk of spontaneous mutations becoming virulent again is low. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attenuated_vaccine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attenuated_vaccine

I wonder if such a virus domestication could be somehow done in-vitro. Probably would only make sense at the very beginning of a (new) pandemic.

by ginko 3y ago

I wonder if such a virus domestication could be somehow done in-vitro. Probably would only make sense at the very beginning of a (new) pandemic.

dheera 3y ago

Even if it were possible, it wouldn't control the ones circulating in the wild.

ginko 3y ago
The idea would be that the "domesticated" variant is more infectious so it would outcompete the wild ones.
- ramesh31 3y ago
  >The idea would be that the "domesticated" variant is more infectious so it would outcompete the wild ones. This is precisely what the gain-of-function research that was happening in Wuhan tried to do. Whether that was a good idea or not is now questionable.
  - 9question1 3y ago
    Actually, gain of function research that's been criticized has been criticized mainly for increasing virulence. The post you're responding to here is asking about in vitro research to decrease virulence.
- 9question1 3y ago
```if ... virus domestication could be somehow done in-vitro``` This is basically the definition of a vaccine, except that the vaccine has 0 infectiousness and near 0 virulence, rather than high infectiousness and near 0 virulence
- peteradio 3y ago
  > and near 0 virulence Covid vaccine does not have near 0 side-effects.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- dheera 3y ago
  I suppose if you could make it more infectious AND less serious AND have similar proteins so as to elicit antibodies that are also effective against the wild one, that would be a very interesting an possibly much more cost-effective way to "vaccinate" everyone. That's a very big if though, and it might be dangerous research to pursue with our current level of scientific knowledge about these things (you could create a 2nd simultaneous pandemic if you don't succeed at the "less serious" part). But maybe at some point in the future it might make sense.
  - samus 3y ago
    All of this has been done for a long time. There are numerous such attenuated vaccines that consist of an artificially bred non-virulent version of the illness, for example the oral vaccine against Polio. Yes, there is a risk that these attenuated agents cause epidemics by themselves, thus vaccination campaigns employing them require close monitoring. Actually, most remaining cases of Polio originate from such attenuated vaccines, while "wild" Polio is nearing extinction.

samus 3y ago

This is a very common approach and is called an attenuated vaccine[0]. The oral Polio vaccine is such an agent. But it only works if the virus can't out-evolve the vaccine, the immunity is long-lasting, and if the risk of spontaneous mutations becoming virulent again is low. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attenuated_vaccine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attenuated_vaccine