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giancarlostoro ◴[] No.45027158[source]
Wont viruses just adapt and now we've got worse viruses as a result? Isn't this kind of why doctors don't like to prescribe antibiotics too often, because they become ineffective in the long run.

I'm genuinely asking, I'm a simple software dev not a doctor.

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kristjank ◴[] No.45027269[source]
Antibiotics are related to bacteria, which have different mutation mechanisms than viruses. I'm also a tech guy, so someone may correct me. Also, this seems to influence the human end to make protective material, not act on the viruses directly.
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busyant ◴[] No.45027350[source]
Viruses can acquire resistance by mutation. This has been well established for decades.

FWIW, I was trained as a bacterial geneticist and routinely used bacteriophage (viruses that infect bacteria) with various resistance mutations.

Viral mutations are not restricted to viruses that infect bacteria.

edit: in fact, fundamental aspects of the genetic code were determined by analyzing and exploiting viral mutations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crick,_Brenner_et_al._experime...

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1. busyant ◴[] No.45029483[source]
OT: Just replying to myself to ramble a little bit more.

The Crick, Brenner et al. paper that I cited above

* studied mutations in a viral gene called "rIIB"

* the authors used those rIIB mutations to determine that the genetic code was a non-overlapping triplet (now called codons) -- a pretty fundamental discovery.

* What's amazing to me is that they still have NO IDEA what the rIIB gene actually _does_, mechanistically.

It's like learning a little bit about God using an enigma machine (sorry, shitty simile).