Finding the science in science fiction by Ashley Hungerford (ereader ebook txt) 📖

intact viruses which “bud off” from the infected cell ready to infect its neighbours"(The brain bank, 2012).

The whole purpose of a virus is to infect a host; and to replicate its own DNA, so can a virus heal like the one in Planet of the Apes or I Am Legend? Shockingly the answer is yes. These movies have some very sound science behind them, in spite of the fiction. Gene therapy is a science that involves meshing DNA, that includes DNA from viruses with that of humans, in order to heal. Where science fiction truly becomes fictious is when the virus becomes a cure all for a multitude of diseases; in reality, gene therapy would only attack one single gene. 

According to the brain bank, movies like I Am Legend take certin aspects of reality and true scientific concerns and amplify them. "In the films, the therapeutic virus mutates back to its virulent form, or an even more virulent one. It then spreads a fatal disease throughout the population, causing a global catastrophe. One of the concerns about using viruses for gene therapy is that this nightmare scenario might come true. This possibility is currently under intensive study within controlled research environments. Although current research has found that recombination and a return to virulence may be possible for certain viruses, this may not be the case for all viral vectors used in gene therapy" (The brain bank, 2012).

Next time you have a cold imagine what would happen if your cold were amplified and mutated in such a way that it could wipe out and entire nation; then perhaps you have your on science fiction story. 

 

The brain bank. (2012, August 4). Science Fiction vs. Science Fact. Retrieved from The Brain Bank Science Blog: http://thebrainbank.scienceblog.com/2012/08/04/science-fiction-vs-science-fact-the-use-of-viruses-to-cure-disease/

 

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Publication Date: 04-18-2014

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