Nerd Talk...

I'm watching a show about the H5N1 and H1N1 viruses. And current research on the evolution of both viruses.

The Spanish flu (a H1N1 variant) is responsible for killing anywhere from 50 to 100 million people worldwide during the 1918-1920 pandemic. The flu still remains a dangerous element to human existence by killing tens of thousands every year (amongst the elderly and the very young). This class of H1N1 flu virus also contains the subgroup of viruses that has sparked a recent "Swine flu" pandemic.

The H5N1 virus is the more recent avian flu that has sparked concern in recent news because of it's high-lethality in rural Chinese communities in 2006. Despite the lethality of the virus, there has been little evidence to support that the virus can be transmitted between humans.

So one of the research efforts that has sparked my interest is the recombination of these viruses to create new ones. One of these featured researchers is planning to take the 1918 Spanish flu virus (a de novo creation based on gene sequences stockpiled from historic tissue samples) and recombining it with the 2006 avian flu virus.

The rationale is that there is significant knowledge to be gained when we observe how a recombination between an H5N1 and an H1N1 virus can potentially create a contagious version of avian flu.

The H and N genes are usually what they focus on. The H gene stands for Hemagglutinin, which enables the flu virus to infect cells. The N gene is the Neuraminidase enzyme, which is responsible for the release of the virus from the host cell. There are several variations of the H and N genes, hence the numbering. So the combination of these genes lead to various strains that we observe (H1N1, H2N3, etc...).

My mind was blown away when I heard this... Influenza has an interesting existence. Viruses are not considered alive but they are still bound by rules of nature (survival of the fittest or natural selection).

I think that to intentionally induce the evolution of these viruses to figure out if a contagious version of a lethal disease is possible is kind of silly. Can't we just assume that it can take place? Nature never fails, why can't we just settle on that?

I mean I guess the research will go on whether I have reservations or not, but I always find it interesting to see guys working in bubble suits. I find minor amusement in contemplating how my students would fare in an unforgiving environment like a level 5 laboratory. Perhaps they'd be better guinea pigs than researchers since many of them have a tendency to get sick and run with scissors...