Plastic Antibodies Shown to Fight Off Antigens in the Body Just Like the Real Thing

I read the full report, and it's solid. However, the title of this article is a misnomer - these antibodies were stated in the report to be effective, yes, but *not as much* as natural antibodies. At any rate, this is definitely good news for many people, and there's a myriad of potential applications.

It could be able to save lives in instances of advanced viral infection, when the body can't keep up with the rate of virus production. Because these can work on compounds as well as pathogens, I can see a veritable stockpile of these plastic antibodies for the various toxins produced by virii that would otherwise kill people too quickly for their immune systems to beat the infection - viruses such as Ebola come to mind. These antibodies could target the virii themselves, or just the toxin, depending on the stage of infection.

Then there's also the thought of creating antibodies for venom. Jellyfish such as the Box Jellyfish and Irukandji, snakes such as Australian Taipans, the Asian/African Saw-Scaled Viper, & American Diamondbacks, and spiders such as the Brazilian Wandering spider & the Australian Funnel Web. Then snake venom could be harvested and analyzed purely for its potential use elsewhere, rather than being needed to produce antivenom.

All that assumes these artificial antibodies can be replicated without requiring the presence or synthesis of the target molecule. If that isn't the case, this will still be better than antihistamines for treatment of allergic reactions, as pre-stockpiled quantities could be shipped anywhere in the world.

I'm sure more testing is needed, but this is great news for everyone who could be impacted - which is to say, everyone!

Well they might not be as effective as normal antibodies they definitely still have their use... I think right now their goal is more of a "bonus" antibodies for people who have a particularly strong disease or who have a weak natural immune system.

This is a pretty cool experiment, everyone can benefit from this. This is probably at a very early stage though... It might be particularly useful for victims of HIV that have a weak immune system so their body can keep fighting for longer periods of time.

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I wonder what the duration of activity is for each of these plastic antibodies. How would the body expel them?

@ muralogist. Same here. How long does it take this plastic to degrade and in what way can we expel them.

On the potential use:

Antibodies are essentially receptors for B and T cells. B cells unleash thousands upon thousands of antibodies to inactivate "not self" antigens and make them easier to find for phagocytosis.

One idea that has been around for dealing with things like influenza, is to generate an immunity to it by activating a B cell with antibodies that targets the "stable" part of the virus. The reason we constantly re-catch influenza is because the part that is typically identified by antibodies rapidly mutates, and so the immunological memory developed fails to protect us; the B memory cells that have been replicated have antibodies that don't work (as well) against other strains of the disease.

One barrier is that in order to create an immunity, we have to have a B cell present that has antibodies that will latch onto the stable part. So far, vaccines like this have been a trial and error process. With this, perhaps we can make targeted antibodies specifically tailored to epidemics. Without the attached B cell, they won't create a memory, or mass produce themselves, but they can help inactivate and remove the targeted antigens even if our body can't.

You get this plastic andtibody treatment, then go to the ocean for some relaxation. You cut your foot then all of a sudden all of a certain type of bacteria get wiped off the face of the planet. Hope they dont last long outside of the body.

@thor0997: Realize that antibodies are pretty specific, and are normally single-use only, or at the very least, only bond to one thing. The bound-to item is either broken down, along with the antibody, or expelled from the body as waste, with the antibody. In short, it would take an incredibly large amount of these artificial antibodies to wipe out an entire species, and that species would have to depend on the same compound the antibodies bond to. I'm sure extensive testing and refinement of the specificity of these plastic antibodies will be performed before they're applied on a large scale.

That brings me to wonder about disposal of these, however. After the body safely neutralizes whatever they've bonded to, will they float freely once again in the bloodstream, or be expelled as waste? If expelled as waste, will sewage treatment plants have to include special filters to remove these, or are they large enough to be filtered with existing equipment? There's a lot of factors to be considered with these objects.

There are two sides of this; the first is that this could save lives. the second is that this could further more alter natural selection in favor of the human race. I will cover both biases.
Live Saving POV:
This is a colossal advancement in the medical field. This could Increase the survival rate for multiple diseases, viruses, infections, etc.
Natural Selection Altering POV:
The Human Race is destroying the environment all over the globe. This artificial antibody will increase the amount of Humans on the Earth that should be deceased.

@7biologist7: You want to go off yourself first, to help save the planet? It would also save the rest of us from your assinine comments.

never ever thought plastics would do such a thing..
thekpv

@Isaacnd200 - This article is about plastic antibodies, not the oil crisis in the gulf. I don't know how you got the two confused, but the two topics are not even remotely related.

@turdfurgussen - Can i point out the irony in your comment? "biologist" was giving a valid point. While his comment may be a bit too harsh for your pure ears, it's the truth. Over-Population is a serious problem in today's world and - as "biologist" implied - where do we draw the line?

Think of it this way: If we start saving too many people who aren't being "picked off" by natural selection ( and you can't tell me that Nature doesn't govern our lives ), we're going to come back to these sorts of ( fantastic ) discoveries and realize they created a real dramatic chain reaction of problems for our country/world.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is an amazing step in medical science, however we can't just ignore the problems that could potentially be created from this. I believe ( as well as, I'm assuming, "biologist" does ) that this is a side of every great discovery that no-one wants to deal with because of people - such as yourself - criticizing them for actually brainstorming on a topic so "evil." Has anyone ever told you that "ignoring problems doesn't make them disappear?"

YOU, sir, should save the rest of US from YOUR "assinine" comments.

@ Elgsus. I second that.

@ thor0997. Summarizing what onihikage said --> Plastic can't reproduce so no worries, plus the bonds are specific and it would take more than just a few drops of blood in the ocean to wipe out all of the bacteria.

On topic: My problem is, what if these little guys somehow come to life as a virus state? DUH DUH DUH /end music

Allergies are more likely the result of an immune system overreaction.

@7biologist7 and elgsus and nhan1st

The point that "turdfurgussen" was making, perhaps crudely, was that all human progress tends to increase our population. Ideologues stating and restating this fact is tiresome and misanthropic.

So the question arises, should we suspend developments like noted in this wonderul article and all other progress for the population concerns stated and supported?

If you are truly scientifically minded then the answer is clear, and parroting the re-wilding ethos that was washed into your skull while your reason was on hold is not helpful. Let's stick to the science if possible, and not mention self-hating ideas at news of every development.

Besides, we already have a Darwinian method to rewild the planet and keep human infestation under control. It's called war and it is the second most efficient way to address your concerns.

So I guess you and your fellow travelers are all pro-war?

And since ideology has been brought into this discussion consider this; don't most liberal causes (except abortion and euthanasia) succor the weak and increase the population? Should we suspend socialist programs world-wide, AIDs research, you get the idea...

Why do some scientists and authors insist on making every piece of plastic "alive". How can they seriously say it "FIGHTS OFF ANTIGENS" . It does not fight. It has a natural attachment that is all. It does not search for or "TRACK DOWN" threats. When it coincidentally touches an antigen, its capacity to attach allows for it to do so. It is not active. It does not think. It does nothing but get carried around by blood flow and bump into stuff until it happens to bump into something to which it attaches. It may be attaching to other things which could be harmful in the long run. We won't know about that because it was not being tested for that. If you take two batches of test animals and dose one with the plastic and leave the other alone.... who is harmed? Who dies first?

It is sometimes helpful to anthropomorphize things to think about how they may interact. It is NOT helpful to forget that they are not alive.