Raju Korti
In a Facebook post yesterday, born part out of my locked down anguish and part out of desperation to cut loose through some silly humour, I ventilated it out on researchers for their inability to anticipate the kind of vicious viruses the world could encounter in future. My case was the mankind should be adequately prepared and resourced with vaccines so that it isn't caught on the wrong foot like it has happened in the wake of Corona pandemic.
My US-based journalist friend Mayank Chhaya, quick on the uptake as always, pointed out the inanity in my post saying "purely as a plausible scientific response, Raju, virus mutations are very hard to anticipate but I get your point." So honesty demands that a disclaimer should be in place. To begin with, my knowledge about viruses as also how and why they mutate is not scientifically deep-rooted but based on my average perceptions as a Science student.
My interest in the subject was triggered sometime in the early eighties when the Time magazine did a comprehensive story on viruses and their influence on humans. All I could glean at that time was their number was a staggering 10 nonillion which is 10 raised to its 31st power. This means there are more viruses on earth than there are stars in the universe, enough to assign one to every star in the Universe 100 million times over. However, it is not just the mathematics of viruses that intrigued me. I have been exercising on the fighting spirit of the humans to overcome them and their adverse effects although it is still unclear how long immunity will last once a person's immune system beats the infection. Once an infection leaves the body, it leaves markers in the immune system also known as antibodies that can quickly identify and fight the virus if it were to reappear in future.
My interest in the subject would have probably died a natural death at this stage of enlightenment but twenty five years back it was re-amplified by a medical thriller "Contagion" written by Robin Cook. What drives me to be relevant here is Cook has taken an interesting flight of fancy that in hindsight looks almost prophetic. It is the story of a deadly epidemic spread not merely by microbes but by sinister sabotage described as a terrifying cautionary tales for the millennium as health care giants collide. When you read the conspiracy theories emanating from different quarters about the present pandemic and the ever so devious role of pharmaceutical companies whose lobby is believed to be much stronger than the doctors' lobby, you have to give it to Cook as a soothsayer. That he screwed it up with an absolutely implausible, ridiculous ending is quite another story.
Cook was right on track. In 1989, he authored a book "Mutation" in which he outlined the ethics of genetic engineering and as recently as in 2018, came out with "Pandemic" where a seemingly healthy woman with transplanted heart suffers from acute respiratory distress and dies. The protagonist, a medical examiner and a frequent character in his novels, does an autopsy and suspects the death could be due to a flu-like virus. While investigating the mysterious heart transplant of the dead woman, he unearths a larger conspiracy. He meets a Chinese billionaire businessman who holds a double PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics. Further cases of flu-like virus get reported in many parts of the world and he determines to stop the pandemic from spreading.
Three books in a row that touch upon related subjects steeped into medical sciences make for a remarkable coincidence when you see what the world is passing through with similar shades of grey. For me, this backdrop raises a predicament. In my limited wisdom, I wonder why the scientific community since so long has kept changing its collective mindset over what viruses are. First seen as poisons, then as life-forms, then biological chemicals, they are thought of as being in grey area between living and non-living. The classification of viruses as non-living in the modern era of biological science has had an unintended consequence. It has led most researchers to ignore viruses in the study of evolution - a point where I feel vindicated. Perhaps it is a case of belated wisdom that most researchers are beginning to appreciate viruses as fundamental players in the history of life.
A mutation is just a change in virus's genetic code. Most mutations don't really change how the virus behaves. It is still unclear how the mutations ultimately affect counter-measures like a vaccine. That perhaps explains the mist surrounding the mutation of the Corona virus. My considered opinion is although success in predicting what new viruses will emerge may be limited, predicting how viruses may evolve and spread could be more tractable. That the mutations quickly become drug-resistant means it is going to an unending tug of war between humans and viruses.
Till then, keep washing your hands until a proven vaccine arrives. And once it does, rest on your paunches till another one comes to bug you.
In a Facebook post yesterday, born part out of my locked down anguish and part out of desperation to cut loose through some silly humour, I ventilated it out on researchers for their inability to anticipate the kind of vicious viruses the world could encounter in future. My case was the mankind should be adequately prepared and resourced with vaccines so that it isn't caught on the wrong foot like it has happened in the wake of Corona pandemic.
My US-based journalist friend Mayank Chhaya, quick on the uptake as always, pointed out the inanity in my post saying "purely as a plausible scientific response, Raju, virus mutations are very hard to anticipate but I get your point." So honesty demands that a disclaimer should be in place. To begin with, my knowledge about viruses as also how and why they mutate is not scientifically deep-rooted but based on my average perceptions as a Science student.
My interest in the subject was triggered sometime in the early eighties when the Time magazine did a comprehensive story on viruses and their influence on humans. All I could glean at that time was their number was a staggering 10 nonillion which is 10 raised to its 31st power. This means there are more viruses on earth than there are stars in the universe, enough to assign one to every star in the Universe 100 million times over. However, it is not just the mathematics of viruses that intrigued me. I have been exercising on the fighting spirit of the humans to overcome them and their adverse effects although it is still unclear how long immunity will last once a person's immune system beats the infection. Once an infection leaves the body, it leaves markers in the immune system also known as antibodies that can quickly identify and fight the virus if it were to reappear in future.
My interest in the subject would have probably died a natural death at this stage of enlightenment but twenty five years back it was re-amplified by a medical thriller "Contagion" written by Robin Cook. What drives me to be relevant here is Cook has taken an interesting flight of fancy that in hindsight looks almost prophetic. It is the story of a deadly epidemic spread not merely by microbes but by sinister sabotage described as a terrifying cautionary tales for the millennium as health care giants collide. When you read the conspiracy theories emanating from different quarters about the present pandemic and the ever so devious role of pharmaceutical companies whose lobby is believed to be much stronger than the doctors' lobby, you have to give it to Cook as a soothsayer. That he screwed it up with an absolutely implausible, ridiculous ending is quite another story.
Cook was right on track. In 1989, he authored a book "Mutation" in which he outlined the ethics of genetic engineering and as recently as in 2018, came out with "Pandemic" where a seemingly healthy woman with transplanted heart suffers from acute respiratory distress and dies. The protagonist, a medical examiner and a frequent character in his novels, does an autopsy and suspects the death could be due to a flu-like virus. While investigating the mysterious heart transplant of the dead woman, he unearths a larger conspiracy. He meets a Chinese billionaire businessman who holds a double PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics. Further cases of flu-like virus get reported in many parts of the world and he determines to stop the pandemic from spreading.
Three books in a row that touch upon related subjects steeped into medical sciences make for a remarkable coincidence when you see what the world is passing through with similar shades of grey. For me, this backdrop raises a predicament. In my limited wisdom, I wonder why the scientific community since so long has kept changing its collective mindset over what viruses are. First seen as poisons, then as life-forms, then biological chemicals, they are thought of as being in grey area between living and non-living. The classification of viruses as non-living in the modern era of biological science has had an unintended consequence. It has led most researchers to ignore viruses in the study of evolution - a point where I feel vindicated. Perhaps it is a case of belated wisdom that most researchers are beginning to appreciate viruses as fundamental players in the history of life.
A mutation is just a change in virus's genetic code. Most mutations don't really change how the virus behaves. It is still unclear how the mutations ultimately affect counter-measures like a vaccine. That perhaps explains the mist surrounding the mutation of the Corona virus. My considered opinion is although success in predicting what new viruses will emerge may be limited, predicting how viruses may evolve and spread could be more tractable. That the mutations quickly become drug-resistant means it is going to an unending tug of war between humans and viruses.
Till then, keep washing your hands until a proven vaccine arrives. And once it does, rest on your paunches till another one comes to bug you.
Your last line is Hilarious ������
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