My uninformed opinion, from what I read in the article, is that this isn't an antibiotic. It doesn't kill the virus, it just gums up it's reproductive abilities. I'm no biologist, I don't know if the viruses will be able to evolve a new "groove" that this drug doesn't fit into, but if they do, it seems quite possible that the people who designed this drug could just redesign it to fit the new groove. I don't see how viruses can become permanently immune. Of course I'm probably wrong, in which case there's no real reason to correct me. I know I'm an idiot.
On the other hand, this drug will probably be a godsend for people with immune system problems for whom the common cold can be nigh deadly. You don't -have- to take it to cure your cold, and it certainly has many other applications(at least 168). It's not going to make us "soft and useless", it's just going to increase the quality of living a little.
They should have done it as a video clue with Torvalds himself. And he could be flagrantly displaying a Transmeta coffee mug or something, just to screw with our minds.
Slashdot Mirror
Shouldn't this be the "All-your-Base-Pair-are-belong-to-us" department?
My uninformed opinion, from what I read in the article, is that this isn't an antibiotic. It doesn't kill the virus, it just gums up it's reproductive abilities. I'm no biologist, I don't know if the viruses will be able to evolve a new "groove" that this drug doesn't fit into, but if they do, it seems quite possible that the people who designed this drug could just redesign it to fit the new groove. I don't see how viruses can become permanently immune.
Of course I'm probably wrong, in which case there's no real reason to correct me. I know I'm an idiot.
On the other hand, this drug will probably be a godsend for people with immune system problems for whom the common cold can be nigh deadly. You don't -have- to take it to cure your cold, and it certainly has many other applications(at least 168). It's not going to make us "soft and useless", it's just going to increase the quality of living a little.
They should have done it as a video clue with Torvalds himself.
And he could be flagrantly displaying a Transmeta coffee mug or something, just to screw with our minds.