Scientists cure allergies

mariomario
edited July 18 in For SCIENCE
Ooh, look at those scientists who think they're all cool curing cancer! Well I don't have cancer! I do, however, have many allergies that put me in an antihistamine-related sneezing stupor for a vast majority of the calendar year. So this article has a lot more personal significance to me. Apparently they're developing a new vaccine for allergies that can take effect in a matter of weeks!

Seriously though, the cancer research is awesome. I'm rootin' for both teams to make great strides in their respective fields.
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Comments

  • mjc0961mjc0961
    edited February 2007
    Awesome! I can't help shake the feeling that a cure for AIDS isn't far behind now.
  • brucebruce
    edited February 2007
    I wonder what the side effects are...
  • mariomario
    edited February 2007
    ...to vaccines? None that I'm aware of. A vaccine is simply a small sample of the disease (or, in this case, the allergen) large enough to trigger an immune system response, in the hope that it teaches your immune system how to fight it and develop an immunity. There's no side effect to learning how to beat a disease.
  • brucebruce
    edited February 2007
    But a simple vaccine shouldn't work for allergens...

    Otherwise someone with peanut allergies would have a reaction once, then shouldn't suffer from it again...

    Also, vaccines can have some side-effects, such as fever and nausea.
  • mjc0961mjc0961
    edited February 2007
    I'm pretty sure that food alergies are a whole different ball game.
  • mariomario
    edited February 2007
    You don't simply become immune to whatever your body doesn't like the first time you come across it. In the case of food allergies, you're generally ingesting a significant amount of the substance (as opposed to something like, say, pollen, where only a trace amount makes it into your system), and it's being distributed to rather sensitive areas of the body. And if you die from it, you don't have much time to build an immunity. :p
  • DrLeopoldStrabismusDrLeopoldStrabismus
    edited February 2007
    No! It's the immune reaction that kills you!
  • mariomario
    edited February 2007
    Sorry, that's what I meant to say. But the gist of my post is still true.
  • mjc0961mjc0961
    edited February 2007
    mario wrote: »
    You don't simply become immune to whatever your body doesn't like the first time you come across it.

    That would be awesome, though. Immunity to bad smells, anyone?
  • DrLeopoldStrabismusDrLeopoldStrabismus
    edited February 2007
    No! That would be insensitivity! I don't think everyone really understand how immunities work!
  • mjc0961mjc0961
    edited February 2007
    I was talking hypothetically, that if the human body could become immune to "whatever your body doesn't like," I wouldn't have to smell unpleasant things because my body doesn't like them.
  • DrLeopoldStrabismusDrLeopoldStrabismus
    edited February 2007
    "Immune to" means "to be free of damage from", so...psychological damage too? I guess that would be cool!
  • mariomario
    edited February 2007
    I wanna build an immunity to Electric-type attacks. I get hit with static electricity all the time at work, and that shit's dangerous when working on customers' computers.
  • mjc0961mjc0961
    edited February 2007
    Yeah, not being able to smell it at all would be awesome, but just getting rid of the gag reflex would be nice enough.
    mario wrote: »
    I wanna build an immunity to Electric-type attacks. I get hit with static electricity all the time at work, and that shit's dangerous when working on customers' computers.

    Ditto! I'm tired of all the static electricity generated by my job. Those zaps hurt, and the rubber gloves to block that shit make my hands way too sweaty.
  • Amoeba BoyAmoeba Boy
    edited February 2007
    That's not even close to how immunity works!

    There are sometimes side effects to vaccines. It is possible that, even with a weakened sample, you could come down with the disease you were trying to immunize yourself against.
  • mjc0961mjc0961
    edited February 2007
    Amoeba Boy wrote: »
    That's not even close to how immunity works!

    We already established that we know that, but are talking hypothetically in response to the way mario worded his explination to Night Lord.
  • DrLeopoldStrabismusDrLeopoldStrabismus
    edited February 2007
    That's not how immunity works, either!
  • mariomario
    edited February 2007
    That's not a side effect exactly, that's the disease doing what it's supposed to (or in this case, the allergic person's body's immune system working as crappily as ever). I thought Night Lord was referring to long-term side effects like you might see with medication.
  • DrLeopoldStrabismusDrLeopoldStrabismus
    edited February 2007
    thats_not_immunity.gif
  • mjc0961mjc0961
    edited February 2007
    mario wrote: »
    I thought Night Lord was referring to long-term side effects like you might see with medication.

    As did I.
  • mariomario
    edited February 2007
    Then please, enlighten us as to how immunity works, since we're all apparently so woefully inept in regard to this topic!
  • brucebruce
    edited February 2007
    Immunity is simply a state of having sufficient biological defenses to prevent diseases.
  • Amoeba BoyAmoeba Boy
    edited February 2007
    As I understand it, it is when the phagocytes in your body become adept at destroying the invading bacteria. Usually because it develops receptors on its surface specified to the invader.

    This will probably be a simul-post with John who'll explain it in some other weird way.
  • mjc0961mjc0961
    edited February 2007
    That's the definition of immunity, not how it works! Answer the question at hand, my good man.

    Oh, sure. Another one of you sneaky "post while he's typing" people, eh? Well, I was talking to Night Lord.
  • Amoeba BoyAmoeba Boy
    edited February 2007
    I didn't try and make your post a bit late, it just happened!
  • DrLeopoldStrabismusDrLeopoldStrabismus
    edited February 2007
    That's not how immunity works, either!
  • mjc0961mjc0961
    edited February 2007
    mario wrote: »
    Then please, enlighten us as to how immunity works, since we're all apparently so woefully inept in regard to this topic!

    Come on, John. We turn to you for knowledge.
  • mariomario
    edited February 2007
    I was looking for John's explanation. I know how immunity works.
  • brucebruce
    edited February 2007
    Apparently not.
  • Amoeba BoyAmoeba Boy
    edited February 2007
    Until he displays otherwise, I am hereby declaring that John does not know how immunity works!

    Spread the word.

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