• Question: If you had to invent a cure for a deadly virus, what elements would you use and why?

    Asked by Leann to Christopher, Dan, Jen, Mohan, Sarah on 6 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Sarah De Vos

      Sarah De Vos answered on 6 Mar 2017:

      I’m not a virologist so not sure how I’d go about it but I’d want it to destroy the virus whilst keeping the host (us, or animals) safe, much like how radiotherapy works (you try to kill the tumour whilst not harming any of the surrounding cells).

    • Photo: Mohan K

      Mohan K answered on 6 Mar 2017:

      Like Sarah said, one of the biggest issues with treating viruses is to limit harm to the host. Viruses tend to invade cells where they hijack the cell’s functions. This means the disease can remain well hidden from the body’s immune system and well hidden from chemical agents.

    • Photo: Jen Dennis

      Jen Dennis answered on 6 Mar 2017:

      The first elements I’d pull together would be a team of people that actually know how these things work! I’m afraid that, as a physicist, this isn’t an area I really know much about so I’d call in the experts. I’d like to think I could contribute something useful and get some recognition for it all, though! As the others have already said, keeping the host safe and healthy whilst killing the virus is the aim but virologists would be the experts in how to best do that.

    • Photo: Christopher Mirfin

      Christopher Mirfin answered on 7 Mar 2017:

      Immunotherapy is a big thing at the moment – supercharging the bodies immune system to target viruses/cancers etc.

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