Science: Gates Foundation Funds "Altruistic Vaccine"

[Bob Hubbard]

Science: Gates Foundation Funds "Altruistic Vaccine" on Thursday May 14, @03:46AM


Posted by samzenpus on Thursday May 14, @03:46AM
from the needles-with-a-heart dept.
QuantumG writes "The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to the University of Queensland, Australia to develop a vaccine against dengue fever, a disease spread by mosquitoes. Unlike other vaccines, the 'altruistic vaccine' doesn't specifically protect the individual being bitten, but instead protects the community by stopping the transmission of the pathogen from one susceptible individual to another. The hope is to do this by effectively making their blood poisonous to mosquitoes, either killing them or at least preventing them from feeding on other individuals. Professor Paul Young explained how his work fell outside current scientific traditions and might lead to significant advances in global health — he said he could envision the vaccine being used around the world within 10 years, and would be designed to be cheap and easy to implement."
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[Bill Mattocks]

Let me get this straight. I get a vaccine that won't protect me from anything. But it will poison any mosquitoes that might feed on me. I'll still get sick, but the mosquito won't be able to feed on anyone else.

Uh, pass.

 

[RandomPhantom700]

Huh. Does the vaccine have any affect on the individual aside from making their blood poisonous to mosquitoes, or make them more susceptible to becoming sick? Because if not, I think I'd actually go for it. I hate mosquitoes anyway.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Its not as odd as it seems. 1 bug can bite a number of people, infecting them all. By taking them out early, less people get sick, and disease spreads less, saving more lives.

 

[Omar B]

So when did we decide to stop curing stuff?

 

[girlbug2]

It is well named as "Altruistic" vaccine. A person would have a strong sense of altruism, or other-orientedness, to voluntarily get this vaccination. I foresee that altruism vaccines would be most successful in countries like Japan and Britain, where people have a tradition of duty and sacrifice.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Its not as odd as it seems. 1 bug can bite a number of people, infecting them all. By taking them out early, less people get sick, and disease spreads less, saving more lives.

But not mine. I pay for the shot, I take the risk of adverse reaction, and I still get sick. Nope.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

It is well named as "Altruistic" vaccine. A person would have a strong sense of altruism, or other-orientedness, to voluntarily get this vaccination. I foresee that altruism vaccines would be most successful in countries like Japan and Britain, where people have a tradition of duty and sacrifice.

In other words, morons.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

So when did we decide to stop curing stuff?

We didn't. This is another means to fight disease.

It benefits you, by killing the bug, before it gets to you.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

But not mine. I pay for the shot, I take the risk of adverse reaction, and I still get sick. Nope.

Tell ya what Bill. You get the shot to save my ***, I'll get it to save yours.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Tell ya what Bill. You get the shot to save my ***, I'll get it to save yours.

You go first. Trust me.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Tell ya what Bill. You get the shot to save my ***, I'll get it to save yours.

I am constantly amazed, at how I can be surrounded by martial artists, who have little understanding of real battle tactics.

If you poison the food supply, the bug will learn to feed elsewhere.
If you kill the bug before it can have maximum infection, you keep more of the population uninfected.
If you then combine this with techniques to maximize the populations ability to fight the disease when infected, you create an optimized situation of low transmission, and rapid recovery.

I'll take the shot, once it's safe and doesn't cause hairloss, impotence, and man boobs.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

You go first. Trust me.

As far as I can throw you my friend, as far as I can throw you.
I did mention, I have a doctors ordered weight lift restriction right?

 

[CoryKS]

Sounds like the premise of one of those philosophical problems like the Prisoners Dilemma, or possibly an episode of Twilight Zone. It's better than nothing, but it might cause bad blood (sorry) between the village and the one who takes the shot and gets infected anyway. Not for long though, 'cuz he'll be dead.

Also, this doesn't really prevent the whole village from dying of mosquito-transmitted dengue fever, it just prevents the same mosquito from infecting someone else. Now, if you could make the mosquito take the poison back to its family like a Roach Motel or something, that would be better.

Must fight urge to point out Gates' inability to handle bugs successfully.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I am constantly amazed, at how I can be surrounded by martial artists, who have little understanding of real battle tactics.

Let me know when you come across some. All I see so far are communistic clap-trap designed to take from me without recompense, in the hope that someone I don't know will benefit by my sacrifice.

If you poison the food supply, the bug will learn to feed elsewhere.

Bugs do not reason. Mosquitoes still fly into those blue light zappers.

If you kill the bug before it can have maximum infection, you keep more of the population uninfected.

You don't know if the mosquito has bitten you first, or twenty people before it bites you.

If you then combine this with techniques to maximize the populations ability to fight the disease when infected, you create an optimized situation of low transmission, and rapid recovery.

Imagine castles that didn't defend themselves from attack, but gave the attackers a disease so that they would all die before attacking the next castle. Wonder why this was never tried in antiquity? I'm argue because it lacks the essential element of saving MY ***.

I'll take the shot, once it's safe and doesn't cause hairloss, impotence, and man boobs.

Uh, too late for me on 2 out of 3. You can guess which 2.

The only way such a system would have any effectiveness would be if the entire population was forced to take the shot by law.

And even then - every person who got bit would still run the risk of developing dengue fever.

Mosquitoes would still carry dengue fever, people would still be bitten, a percentage of those bitten would still be infected. What would go down would be the number of people infected after the mosquito first bit a person who had been treated with this 'altruistic vaccine' and we do not know what that number is.

So, no.

This is not MA strategy. This is wishful thinking by people who can't do math and hope that I can't either.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

As far as I can throw you my friend, as far as I can throw you.
I did mention, I have a doctors ordered weight lift restriction right?

I've been dropping 1.5 to 2 lbs per day for over a month now. I'm becoming quite the feather merchant. Either my exercise regimen is working or I've got diabetes.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I've been dropping 1.5 to 2 lbs per day for over a month now. I'm becoming quite the feather merchant. Either my exercise regimen is working or I've got diabetes.

I hear there's a shot for that.....

 

[crushing]

Also, this doesn't really prevent the whole village from dying of mosquito-transmitted dengue fever, it just prevents the same mosquito from infecting someone else. Now, if you could make the mosquito take the poison back to its family like a Roach Motel or something, that would be better.

Ants and termites are somewhat easy because of trophylaxis and how their 'community' works, but I don't know if mosquitoes have a similar mechanism or are even have a community structure where something like that would work.

Must fight urge to point out Gates' inability to handle bugs successfully.

Well played! ;-)

 

[Blindside]

In other words, morons.

A person who selflessly sacrifices themself for the good of others is usually lauded as a hero, rather than the opposite. Those folks who run toward the gunfire or into a burning building may have a very different mentality than you, but do you really consider them "morons?"

Does the fact that the action here is far less dramatic really change how you perceive these people?

 

[Empty Hands]

It's a simple herd immunity. Similar in concept to the vaccines we all receive. Most of us no longer have any immunity to mumps, rubella, polio, or the other vaccinations we had as children. However, we are still protected because our population as a whole is continuously vaccinated when they are young, preventing the diseases from gaining a foothold.

Just like childhood vaccination for rubella, this vaccine will protect the population as a whole. You, and everyone else. Epidemiology doesn't really fit very well into Galtian-logic.