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Bacteria used for producing malaria anti-bodies, seen through a microscope Sang Tan/AP/Press Association Images

Superdrug could cure all viral infections

US researchers say they’ve developed a drug that could cure the common cold, ‘flu and other ailments not affected by antibiotics.

SCIENTISTS AT MIT in the US claim to have solved the problem of killing viral infections usually resistant to antibiotics.

The ‘flu, the common cold, and more serious haemorrhagic fevers – like Ebola – are amongst the viruses that currently can’t be cured.

A new drug called DRACO designed by the US scientists is able to identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then zeroes to kill the infection, writes MIT News. It should work against all viruses and has already proven effective against 15 viruses, including polio, dengue fever and a stomach virus.

MIT’s Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizers (DRACO) is an anti-viral therapy, that causes cells to commit  suicide, thus preventing the spread of infection.

Time Magazine explains that the drug works by using both a cell’s natural defence mechanism, and the virus’s attack mechanism. In this way it is able to find and disable the virus.

It’s thought the new technology might even work against new infections, like respiratory syndrome SARS, which caused a near-pandemic in 2002/2003.

Popular Science says the new treatment could be as effective as antibiotics fighting bacteria – a development that could revolutionise infectious disease medicine.

All of the testing has so far been carried out in mice, but the scientists behind DRACO are hoping to be licensed for trials in larger animals, and eventually in humans.

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11 Comments
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    Mute garretcollins
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    Aug 11th 2011, 3:22 PM

    @ Tal

    It says all viruses.

    Arthritis is not a virus however, it’s an inflammatory disorder.

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    Mute Tal Tallon
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    Aug 11th 2011, 2:25 PM

    If it really works, then it could be very good.

    I wonder is it only recently contracted viruses or could it be used against someone who has arthritis for years?

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    Mute Andy
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    Aug 11th 2011, 7:07 PM

    Since when is Arthritis a virus?

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    Mute Tommy Murphy
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    Aug 12th 2011, 12:28 AM

    What an idiot!!! Give urself a big wet slap in the face

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    Mute Lenny Sloane
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    Aug 11th 2011, 8:56 PM

    Would be amazing if it can ultimately kill the HIV and Aids virus.

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    Mute Oisín Ó Dálaigh
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    Aug 11th 2011, 3:50 PM

    “A new drug called DRACO…”

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    Mute Shane McCarthy
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    Aug 11th 2011, 2:41 PM

    Dangerous stuff. What happens if the bugs become immune, we could all end up being much worse.

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    Mute Sarah Hempenstall
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    Aug 11th 2011, 4:33 PM

    Looking at the paper; they target the virus by inducing programmed cell death (or apoptosis) in infected cells. The reason bacteria become resistant is that you are killing off the bacteria with a compound that you can tolerate but the bacteria cannot. The problem is that you’ll eventually come up against a bacterium that has innate immunity to a certain antibiotic and won’t be killed. Then it will divide and multiply and produce a big whack of resistant bacteria and, because of something called horizontal gene transfer, they can transfer resistance into bacteria that were not resistant at the start. A bacterium is a cell in and of itself and can reporoduce-a virus can’t. It reproduces ONLY by hijacking the cell it has infected. If what this group in MIT have developed works it will target and kill off infected cells. Since the viral marker they target is dsRNA, something the virus produces as it reproduces, it looks pretty unlikely a virus could ever, ever develop resistance simply because it can’t exist without producing dsRNA. dsRNA is not produced by healthy cells so it looks like a good marker. It’s early days but it looks like an elegant solution to a problem that kills and injures millions. Don’t be so negative and immediately assume we’ll all be worse off!

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    Mute Colin Rodgers
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    Aug 12th 2011, 10:31 AM

    Pretty sure this is how Zombie Apocalypses start.

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    Mute Brian McGuinness
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    Aug 12th 2011, 8:36 AM

    This would put a selection pressure on viruses forcing any more virulent mutations to ultimately survive, reproduce and beat anything we can throw at them. In short we’re talking the end of the world here folks. On the bright side, the weather’s supposed to be not too bad for the weekend. Yay!

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    Mute Tal Tallon
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    Aug 12th 2011, 9:37 AM

    Shit, I meant long term virus’s… Ah well

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