Comments on: Starving Dengue Fever Virus of Critical Building Blocks

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:29:56 +0000

I had the impression that this is what this is about, yes.

By: Monado, FCD

Monado, FCD — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:28:15 +0000

daedalus2u, that sounds like a good guess.

Does anyone else picture the scene in RNA world when the newly evolved RNA snippet met the newly accumulated droplet of organic oil and “learned to eat” it?

By: daedalus2u

daedalus2u — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:53:04 +0000

Might this be the mechanism by which statins have anti-flu effects? Revere over at Effect Measure has a post on that.

By: jj

jj — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:11:13 +0000

Then there’s be a good incentive for people to lose weight

I could be mistaken (either by the article or what you are getting at), but what I gather from that piece is not that overall health (regarding amt. of fat) that is what the solution/issue is, but more that lipids that are normally within the cell, whether or not the person is obese or overweight, that are essential for viral assembly. It’s the drugs that are in development for overweight/obese people that may help the fight. SO the over-fed developed world is/has unintentionally helped the underfed under-developed world by researching a drug that may have 2 uses.

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:33:12 +0000

Hmm…fighting dengue through starvation. Ahh, if only dengue was a disease of the overfed developed world. Then there’s be a good incentive for people to lose weight… (And having had dengue, anything that makes it less bad would be a very attractive.)