"Immune Protein Fends Off Exotic Virus"

Key Purpose: To show the recent discovery of a protein that will protect people from a certain virus.

Key Ideas:

• Antiviral proteins fend off viruses
• The main virus that it will eradicate is the Chikungunya virus
• This virus has caused an epidemic in Southeast Asia
• The virus causes joint pain and high fever
• The effectiveness of the proteins produced from the immune cells can be used to control the outbreak of the Chikugunya virus

Key Conclusion:

After reading this story, I am really interested what might be in our body that we have no idea about. It is possible that inside our cells we have the power of curing our own diseases. This could be the common cold or something large like A.I.D.S. I think that more research into our body and what we are made of might be fantastic for finding cures and creating medicine. We wouldn't have to look at outside resources to find cures; every person might have it inside them. If we can find this out, many people in countries that do not have proper medical attention for their citizens could save many lives. I think we have just started t see these things and experiment with them. I am really interested in viruses and bacteria. When I was ten, I wanted to be an infectious disease doctor. Now that we are discussing this in biology, I am enjoying the class even more. To me it is very interesting to study something that might be the end to all humans, or something that might be able to help the world.

"Immune Protein Fends off Exotic Virus." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Web. 19 May 2010. .

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