Some things deserve their bad reputation. The HIV virus is one of them. But what if the virus could be given a chance to repay its debt to society? Sounds far-fetched, but scientists have now recruited the HIV virus as part of their fight against cancer.
So, what’s the key to reforming such a menace? Good old-fashioned brain-washing. Leave the viral mechanisms intact, but give them a new mission. By using a modified HIV virus, scientists were able to infect cancer cells and give them DNA instructions on how to activate cancer drugs. Activated cancer drugs = dead cancer cells.
Those of you who have read a past blog (Changing the DNA You Were Born With) may recognize that this process is genetic engineering. Traditionally, we associate genetic engineering as a process to strengthen our bodies (e.g. make us immune to illness, etc.). In this case, it is used to weaken cancer cells. In fact, this process showed that cancer cells in a petri dish were 300-times more sensitive to the drug after viral infection. In spite of this, the HIV virus still has a long way to go before it is hailed as a hero, but if it manages to kill cancer, it just might be on the road to redemption.
Very interesting. You explain things very well.