Anyone here a Biology Major
#1
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Anyone here a Biology Major
I hate to bring this topic up in another thread but i just had to know. Is it possible for a simple flu like strain to mutate into something greater. Or do we just not know. I just heard that Asia just reported its first case of the swine flu. WTF!?! how does one from Mexico in these times allowed to board a plane, much less travel to another country in another continent! maybe im just paranoid. i wasnt worried about this before but when i heard about the Asia incident, i was just blown away. it kind of reminds of the movie "12 monkeys" where Bruce Willis talks about the epidemic that started out as what scientists thought was a simple flu like strain. also, the article i read on yahoo never mentions anything about the people on the airplane that tourist presumably traveled on.. Where are they?
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yes
the flu strain does mutate into a different strain. However, whether it gets more "harmful" is pretty much random. But, if it is exposed the medications and survives any type of medications, it could potentially mutate to a strain that is more resistant to preexisting treatments.
Every time a virus enters someone, it almost always "changes" to adapt to that person's immune system to elude the body's defenses. Bombarding someone with a vaccines that are not specific for the flu itself can actually produce a virus that is "super" resistant.
But the swine flu will not mutate to AIDS
the flu strain does mutate into a different strain. However, whether it gets more "harmful" is pretty much random. But, if it is exposed the medications and survives any type of medications, it could potentially mutate to a strain that is more resistant to preexisting treatments.
Every time a virus enters someone, it almost always "changes" to adapt to that person's immune system to elude the body's defenses. Bombarding someone with a vaccines that are not specific for the flu itself can actually produce a virus that is "super" resistant.
But the swine flu will not mutate to AIDS
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Originally Posted by Gatsbee13,May 1 2009, 02:25 PM
I hate to bring this topic up in another thread but i just had to know. Is it possible for a simple flu like strain to mutate into something greater. Or do we just not know. I just heard that Asia just reported its first case of the swine flu. WTF!?! how does one from Mexico in these times allowed to board a plane, much less travel to another country in another continent! maybe im just paranoid. i wasnt worried about this before but when i heard about the Asia incident, i was just blown away. it kind of reminds of the movie "12 monkeys" where Bruce Willis talks about the epidemic that started out as what scientists thought was a simple flu like strain. also, the article i read on yahoo never mentions anything about the people on the airplane that tourist presumably traveled on.. Where are they?
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as of right now, you're not going to have to worry about some "super" strain from this H1N1 "Swine Influenza Virus" that's spreading right now. It can, however, overtime become a stronger strain able to resist modern antiviral drugs (different than OTC antibacterial, which has no effect because viruses are not bacteria).
If you're curious to how it spreads, the people infected probably won't know they've been in contact with it. Sometimes symptoms show the day of, most times minor symptoms are brushed off as common coughs, cold. It's difficult to say how the virus "popped up" in Asia, but remember there was a minor case of the H1N1 somewhere in Asia (can't remember off the top of my head) not that long ago.
I have a Bio degree, but the guy above me, it's pretty useless unless you're going into the field of research of teaching. just my .02
If you're curious to how it spreads, the people infected probably won't know they've been in contact with it. Sometimes symptoms show the day of, most times minor symptoms are brushed off as common coughs, cold. It's difficult to say how the virus "popped up" in Asia, but remember there was a minor case of the H1N1 somewhere in Asia (can't remember off the top of my head) not that long ago.
I have a Bio degree, but the guy above me, it's pretty useless unless you're going into the field of research of teaching. just my .02
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Originally Posted by ricepatrol78,May 1 2009, 04:42 PM
agreed... i got a BS in biology... and unless you go on for more school its a pretty useless degree!!!
how's it going?