Gates Foundation Funds "Altruistic Vaccine"

QuantumG writes "The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to the University of Queensland, Australia to develop a vaccine against dengue fever, a disease spread by mosquitoes. Unlike other vaccines, the 'altruistic vaccine' doesn't specifically protect the individual being bitten, but instead protects the community by stopping the transmission of the pathogen from one susceptible individual to another. The hope is to do this by effectively making their blood poisonous to mosquitoes, either killing them or at least preventing them from feeding on other individuals. Professor Paul Young explained how his work fell outside current scientific traditions and might lead to significant advances in global health — he said he could envision the vaccine being used around the world within 10 years, and it would be designed to be cheap and easy to implement."

Comments

A vaccine?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is this a vaccine that prevent you from getting infected with that anti-captialist altruistism?

Is this yet another attempt for Microsoft to destroy the Free Software movement?

Re:Is that really enough?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything but is $100K really all that much considering how expensive it must be to do this kind of research?

If you have a problem with that, buy Microsoft products.

- This message has been sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation -

And 20 years from now...

[Solarhands]

We will have new, super mosquitoes, who's bite is deadly to humans.

Re:And 20 years from now...

[eugene2k]

Uh, how did you infer that was the goal from the GP's post?

Simple: I misunderstood :)

Re:And 20 years from now...

[Hatta]

Just wait until Bill Gates releases those into the audience.

Re:Will this help?

[unlametheweak]

Mosquitoes certainly have their role in the ecosystem and killing them will certainly have unforeseen consequences. More like in the Mao and sparrows story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sparrow_Campaign

And besides, Sparrows are too cute to kill.

Teh horrors!

[Yeti.SSM]

Won't anybody think of the mosquitoes?

Antitrust Vaccine?

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh, I misread that.

Lets call this

[Anonymous Coward]

Service Pack 2.

Re:Isn't this what governor huey did..

[msimm]

I'd rather they made my blood poisonous to lawyers.

Re:Problem

[JordanL]

I think the worst case scenario is somewhere around here

Re:Isn't this what governor huey did..

[perryizgr8]

but lawyers don't suck people's bloo...wait!

For 100k?!

[nitroyogi]

This looks like a moderately expensive PR campaign by Gates Foundation!

Nothing much here.

Re:Isn't this what governor huey did..

[perryizgr8]

hey! i was just trying to get the 'comedian' achievement.

Re:Is that really enough?

[Massacrifice]

Bill Gates != Microsoft

In VB6, it it might well be!

Re:Why a 100K would be needed from Bill to fund th

[inca34]

Yeah, cause those poor beautiful people in Sweden are... so... poor... because they lack the infinite bliss that is what, Baconnaise(TM)?

Actually, I'm pretty sure Benjamin was talking about "public provisions made for the poor" and not merely public provisions made for the commonwealth.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=225113&title=the-stockholm-syndrome
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=225126&title=the-stockholm-syndrome-pt.-2

Re:Will this help?

[elrous0]

They're not so cute when they crap on you.

Re:The Giving Plague

[xp]

Um. I think I'll wait for version 3 of this vaccine.
--
Slow Poke

Re:Is that really enough?

[techess]

Really he should up this to 640K. That should be enough for anybody.