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Engineered bacteria kills targeted pathogen:

Engineered bacteria kills targeted pathogen:

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s
Fast and Curious

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Tremendous development, game changer for medicine, of course in ten years or so:

http://phys.org/news/2013-09-bacterium-pathogens.html

My only question is, once the targeted pathogen is destroyed and there are no more in the body, what happens to the engineered bacteria? Designed to disintegrate? Could it start attacking human cells?

h

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Originally posted by sonhouse
Tremendous development, game changer for medicine, of course in ten years or so:

http://phys.org/news/2013-09-bacterium-pathogens.html

My only question is, once the targeted pathogen is destroyed and there are no more in the body, what happens to the engineered bacteria? Designed to disintegrate? Could it start attacking human cells?
I have some additional questions:

Might the bodies immune system attack these helpful bacteria by failing to discriminate between them and harmful bacteria?

What is stopping any of those bacteria mutating to loose their ability, that was genetically engineered into them, to discriminate between the harmful target bacteria and the human body and then multiplying in the body to cause disease? (this is similar in implication but more specific than your "Could it start attacking human cells?" question )

Still, judging from the link, it seems hopeful.

RJHinds
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Originally posted by sonhouse
Tremendous development, game changer for medicine, of course in ten years or so:

http://phys.org/news/2013-09-bacterium-pathogens.html

My only question is, once the targeted pathogen is destroyed and there are no more in the body, what happens to the engineered bacteria? Designed to disintegrate? Could it start attacking human cells?
You simply take an anti-bacterial drug then to get rid of them.

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Originally posted by RJHinds
You simply take an anti-bacterial drug then to get rid of them.

The Instructor
I assume one of the reasons of doing this with bacteria is to avoid using antibiotics.

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Originally posted by humy
I assume one of the reasons of doing this with bacteria is to avoid using antibiotics.
ASSUME makes an ASS out of U and ME.

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Originally posted by RJHinds
ASSUME makes an ASS out of U and ME.

The Instructor
I guess that was a lame attempt at humor. It was such a NEW concept.

RJHinds
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Originally posted by sonhouse
I guess that was a lame attempt at humor. It was such a NEW concept.
The Holy Bible says there is nothing new under the sun. Scientists are only discovering what was already known.

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Originally posted by RJHinds
The Holy Bible says there is nothing new under the sun. Scientists are only discovering what was already known.

The Instructor
And whom was it already known too?

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Originally posted by RJHinds
The Holy Bible says there is nothing new under the sun. Scientists are only discovering what was already known.

The Instructor
what is amongst the many things that "Scientists are only discovering" is evidence for evolution and old Earth and the big bang. To your extremely narrow interpretation of the Bible, that is new.

Also, what is amongst the many things that "Scientists are only discovering" is the equations of quantum mechanics and relativity both of which make predictions at don't relate with your religious beliefs and certainly none of those equations are mentioned in the Bible.

You are still living in the ancient world of pure ignorance and superstition that no longer exists except in the minds of a few like yourself while most of the rest of us, even many Christians, have long moved on into the real world of the modern world of reason and technology and science.

RJHinds
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Originally posted by sonhouse
And whom was it already known too?
You know the ONE or maybe I should say you know of the ONE.

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Originally posted by RJHinds
You know the ONE or maybe I should say you know of the ONE.

The Instructor
You mean your particular fairytale god that no scientist here is silly enough to think exists.

So if your fairytale god already knew everything about “Scientists are only discovering” as you said, this fairytale god should have already known about evolution and old-Earth and the Big Bang because that is what we have already clearly discovered.
Strange then that none of these three discovered realm of knowledge is explained in the Bible when your fairytale god could have made a convincing case for 'his' existence if only 'he' made sure that these things were mentioned in the Bible so to be later verified in the modern age of science, observation and reason that you are so against -a powerful indicator indeed that you fairytale god apparently didn't know anything about those things with the obvious implication that 'he' doesn't exist.

RJHinds
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Originally posted by humy
You mean your particular fairytale god that no scientist here is silly enough to think exists.

So if your fairytale god already knew everything about “Scientists are only discovering” as you said, this fairytale god should have already known about evolution and old-Earth and the Big Bang because that is what we have already clearly discovered.
Strange then ...[text shortened]... t know anything about those things with the obvious implication that 'he' doesn't exist.
The Holy Bible deals with truth, not fairy tales or science fiction.

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Kewpie
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Ignoring the nutter's attempt to kill off any discussion of scientific activity, the potential for any engineered genetic material to "go rogue" is well understood in the scientific community. I have read that they now carefully build in a "self-destruction" obligation to ensure no ongoing consequences.

The thing that often bothers me is that development beyond the experimental phase depends on private enterprise, and that means anything for a dollar, forget the consequences. It's not scientific ethics, it's marketing ethics that will decide the outcome.

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I read a while back that the Herpes Virus can treat some brain tumours; it works because it can't cross the blood brain barrier - it can't escape from the brain if infected and it can't infect brain cells either, but certain types of tumour are vulnerable to it, sounded a very promising technique when I read about it, like the one mentioned.

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Originally posted by e4chris
I read a while back that the Herpes Virus can treat some brain tumours; it works because it can't cross the blood brain barrier - it can't escape from the brain if infected and it can't infect brain cells either, but certain types of tumour are vulnerable to it, sounded a very promising technique when I read about it, like the one mentioned.
I once read somewhere (don't remember where ) of some unusual and rare cases of a few people diagnosed with totally incurable terminal cancer inadvertently getting infected with a viral infection (don't remember which kinds of virus ) and, after getting fever and illness from the virus and then recovering, all their cancer and tumors had apparently miraculously gone and they remained totally clear and cured of cancer!
Apparently the virus had somehow destroyed all the cancer cells in their body without totally destroying normal cells.

If what I read there was accurate, that would definitely be something worth investigating!

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