Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Old Dogs New Tricks
Three bits caught my fancy today, each in its own way about an something old doing something new.
First, technology previously used to build particle accelerators has been adapted for use in reading unreadable vinyl records. Save the music, indeed!
The Mayo clinic has found that gamma globulin in fact stimulates T cell production, in a process that may prove very useful in treating AIDS and autoimmune disorders. And since the HIV vaccine project may or may not be going anywhere, this is very good news!
Other researchers have found a way to make "super-antibodies," which enter cells and stay there to bind targets. This of course has lots of potential applications, from gene targeting/therapy to protective effects: if you can block the effects of a toxin in the body's cells, you can treat an infection much more aggressively.
First, technology previously used to build particle accelerators has been adapted for use in reading unreadable vinyl records. Save the music, indeed!
The Mayo clinic has found that gamma globulin in fact stimulates T cell production, in a process that may prove very useful in treating AIDS and autoimmune disorders. And since the HIV vaccine project may or may not be going anywhere, this is very good news!
Other researchers have found a way to make "super-antibodies," which enter cells and stay there to bind targets. This of course has lots of potential applications, from gene targeting/therapy to protective effects: if you can block the effects of a toxin in the body's cells, you can treat an infection much more aggressively.
