This week's lecture in the MIT series on coronavirus will be a video presentation delivered by Dr. David Baltimore. Dr. Baltimore was awarded the 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine for his seminal work as the co-discoverer fo reverse transcriptase, the enzyme that transcribes RNA to DNA. Currently, Dr. Baltimore is a professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology.
The video presentation today is entitled:
"Virology and lessons from the AIDS pandemic”
https://youtu.be/0tfYTx5C4Es
The lecture by Dr. Baltimore on virology and more specifically the AIDS virus was intriguing. His discussion on virology principles and history were interesting to learn about. I thought this was an important topic on coronavirus as it forms the basis of understanding of all viruses, not just SAR-CoV-02. It was interesting to learn about the relation that Dr. Baltimore did comparing AIDS to the SARS-CoV-2. I find them to be pretty different viruses, transmission, fatality rate, but they are both RNA viruses. He partially ends his slide presentation with a slide about some of the viruses that are currently occurring worldwide. He then asks the question which virus will be next? Building off of this idea do you believe that we (the world) will be better equipped for the next virus that tries to take off and become pandemic level? Do you think we are going to have a better plan of action, better understanding, or do you think history repeats itself?
ReplyDeleteI think that from the COVID-19 pandemic showed us how unprepared we were for a pandemic both medically and economically. Hopefully we have learned from this pandemic that by social distancing and wearing masks, that we can slow the transmission of a virus. I think that whether we will have a better plan of action will depend on how far in the future the next virus appears and the number of people who remember the outcomes from COVID-19. Also, it will depend on how people view the pandemic as a society and whether or not they believe in the science behind preventative measures. Unfortunately only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteDr. Baltimore's lecture was interesting and very informative. The issue of which virus is next remains uncertain considering the emergence of new viruses now and then. Since we have been hit by SARS-CoV-2, and we have managed this far, I believe if a new virus becomes pandemic we may to some extent be able to contain it or may not considering so many factors. Thanks to the vaccination exercise going on. The most challenging issue is how to curb the spread of the virus immediately it is discovered. Usually before measures are put in place we realize that so many lives are lost. These new viruses are like coming with "surprises", so each need to be handled the way it comes, so I feel like history might repeat itself. Let us keep on wearing our masks properly.
ReplyDeleteI think that the SARS-CoV-2 virus had definately brought to light how unprepared we were in addressing a pandemic such as the one we are still facing. However, though the way we have been addressing the virus has improved (whether from planning or necessity), I agree with Jamie's point that the effectiveness of a plan is dependant on the people who follow it. The plan to prevent the spread of the current pandemic has challenged several social norms, which I believe is a reason we do not see everyone following the neccessary precautions. Being able to effectively communicate why these measures are necessary, that is based solely on science and research, to a population of varying background, so that it is easily understandable, should be one of basis of future (and current) plans. As for being prepared for the mysterious next major virus, due to the unique nature and number of viruses which Dr. Baltimore had touched on in his presentation, I think it would be difficult to completely prepared. Mostly this is because we don't know which will be next, what effects it will have, where it will come from, will it "burn out" or evolve during the next pandemic. However, the current pandemic has definately shown a need for this matter to be taken more seriously as well as highlighting why it is necessary to study viruses so that we can "tip the odds" of being prepared in our favor for future virus-based pandemics, rather than playing catch-up once it has emerged.
ReplyDeleteMy view about which virus is next remains to be challenging to answer. With no predictive capability of emerging viruses then we might never know or predict what virus would emerge next. I believe that having experienced the COVID-19, there are several lessons that have learnt that can be employed but the important focus for most pandemics should be how to prevent viruses spreading /transmission as soon as they emerge.
ReplyDeleteThe only way we will be prepared for another pandemic is if the public will follow and listen to science. The problem is there is so much opposing views and presented data about what works and what doesn't. Hopefully this one taught something and maybe masks will be made a more normal thing for when people are sick in general.
ReplyDeleteI hope that science will be better prepared. We were not prepared for genomic mapping of this virus to fully understand it. Our money and resources have went into bigger and better things instead of the basics. I think we will have a better plan and be ready for the next pandemic. Next time we will be prepared to stay home, wear masks, and wash our hands because no one wants to suffer through this again.
ReplyDeleteI think this a wake-up call for us to be proactive in our research work since there is more to know about viruses. Anyways, scientists have really done a good job with the speed of intensive research to come out with the best solution.
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