7 years ago
3
Cows produce powerful HIV antibodies
An unlikely hero has emerged in the quest to fight HIV: the cow. In a first for any animal, including humans, four cows injected with a type of HIV protein rapidly produced powerful antibodies against the virus, researchers report. Learning how to induce similar antibodies in humans may be key to a successful HIV vaccine.
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https://www.sciencenews.org
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So maybe, once again, a vaccine will be developed from cows.
Maybe it's not a bad idea to innoculate cows with every harmful virus known and see if they produce antibodies to kill them. It would make the word "vaccine" that much more meaningful.
Sounds kinda cruel.
Not if you consider the life choices of your typical cow in the western world. If I were a cow in a factory farm, forced to live in a tiny cubicle standing on a pool of my own feces, and having my kids taken away and murdered so that my milk can be harvested, I think I'd choose being injected with viruses for scientific experiments instead. At least scientists are bound by some minimal requirements on the humane treatment of research subjects.