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Self-spreading vaccine research could spin out of control, experts warn

#1
C C Offline
https://gizmodo.com/self-spreading-vacci...1848314010

EXCERPTS: . . . Vaccines that spread like a disease are an unquestionably powerful concept. They could be used to protect animals from disease and/or prevent them from harboring viruses dangerous to humans. In 2020, biologists Scott Nuismer and James Bull, both at the University of Idaho, argued for this very approach in a paper titled “Self-disseminating vaccines to suppress zoonoses.” (By self-disseminating virus, scientists mean a virus that has been artificially modified to perform a desired function while retaining its ability to spread between hosts.)

By leveraging the spreading power of viruses, scientists could create biological agents that proliferate quickly through a target population, with the viruses performing specific tasks, such as delivering vaccines or sterilizing invasive species. In the late 1980s, Australian researchers dabbled with lab-modified, contagious viruses, using multiple approaches to exterminate foxes, mice, and rabbits, according to the paper.

More conceptually—and certainly more controversially—this strategy could also be used to spread vaccines among humans.

As the paper points out, interest in this biotechnology has increased significantly over the past several years, with the European Union (through its Horizon 2020 program), the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency all currently running programs to explore a wide range of possible applications.

Lentzos, Reeves, and colleagues say it’s time to pump the brakes and consider the consequences of this research and all the moving parts needed to make such a thing work. It’s not immediately clear, they argue, that self-disseminating viruses can be contained or removed from an environment once released, or who would be responsible for the biocontrol agent, should the virus behave unexpectedly or cross national boundaries.

Advocates of the idea say these viruses could be modified to have short lifespans or be made incapable of mutating, but “it remains to be experimentally tested if [manipulations] could simultaneously limit viral replication transmissibility to the extent that they could be perceived as controllable while maintaining sufficient transmissibility to be considered useful as vaccines in continually dynamic environments,” according to the report.

[...] The idea of transmissible vaccines might die on the vine, whether on account of technical issues, safety concerns, or lack of public acceptance. But, clearly, dedicated research attention is needed, since the potential benefits—and risks—are immense... (MORE - missing details)
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#2
Syne Offline
Sounds like a delivery mechanism for biological warfare.
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