Story here. This would be pretty cool. Little flying syringes zipping around.
I also like the one about turning vaginal bacteria into infection fighters. I can see this as a discussion topic on a first date.
These are two of 104 recent grants by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. There’s even a scientist in North Korea who’ll get US$100,000!
Neato. Would be particularly cool (and devilishly confusing) if the bugs could be used to combat malaria.
Yes, but what about all those poor mosquitos that are going to develop autism?
I find a mosquito carrying a vaccine for the West Nile Virus very funny. Well, you know, if there was one and it wasn’t for all the death and shit.
You mean I would have to stop swatting them? Never!
Interesting, but this raises some pretty hairy issues about patient consent. I don’t know how you’d work around that.
I dunno – has anyone ever asked your consent to flouridate your water? Me – no.
Would it be possible to get over-vaccinated? I get bit A LOT.
Hey, our lab is applying for one of those grants! Yay!
I’m curious if the North Korean scientist will actually be allowed to keep the money. Maybe he’ll have to fork it over to Kim to give to his bimbos.
Actually, his name, Huan Nguyen, sounds Vietnamese, not Korean.
Fair point, but there is a difference in degree. I can purchase fluoridated products off the shelf at CVS - I cannot purchase vaccines (or antibiotics, for that matter). Rightly or wrongly, we view some medical treatments as more intrusive than others - vaccination more so than fluoridation.
If it was a cheap, effective, and easy way to combat disease, trust me there would be a way to work around patient consent and how.
Sure, but that way is basically by declaring “Consent? We don’t need no stinkin’ consent!”
My greatest concern is that it removes all ability to control the distribution of whatever vaccines are used. If it is discovered that a new vaccine shouldn’t be given to pregnant women, or should not be given while suffering from some other disease, or if a link between autism and vaccinations had been found, there would be no way to cease distribution, or to delay a vaccination until an individual could safely be vaccinated.
Am I the only one whose first thought was “what a terrible idea”? We’ve already proven we can’t kill mosquitoes. If for some reason there was a problem, getting things under control would be a nightmare. This is just begging to be the plot of a John Grisham novel.
You can get antibiotics over the counter over here. One of the first things a long-term expat learns is how to self-medicate. With advice from the pharmacist for trickier problems. A doctor is often the last resort.
No, not Grisham - Crichton. Which is much, much worse.
I don’t want anyone to think I’m knocking informed consent, because I’m not; I think it’s a great thing. But over here, it’s often viewed with suspicion as one of those fancy Western ideas. You have to understand that a lot of local populations are simply used to doing what they’re told. Plus they just want someone to fix them up without bothering them with a lot of technical talk when maybe they can’t even read or write, let alone understand that these are NOT evil spirits causing the sickness. The doctor’s supposed to know what to do: fix 'em up so they can go back and eke out their miserable existence from their parched little piece of land.
Great! Send some over. I need minions, many of them, even better if only one of them speaks English and can translate my orders.