Brian O’Dowd was born in Dublin. He lives in Toronto. O’Dowd is a Professor at the University of Toronto. His novel ‘A Wicklow Girl’, was published in 2017. Available on Amazon etc. Publisher: Tellwell, Canada. In 2019 he won the prestigious Prix Galien 2019 Canadian Science Award, as reported in the Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/dubliner-wins-prix-galien-2019-award-for-pharmaceutical-research-1.4093350

Good Virus, Bad Virus 

By Brian O’Dowd ©

Virus contribution to advance life? Just throwing this out something not often stated turns out 8% of our DNA was inserted from remnants of viral DNA, having gobs of ancestors infected by primordial virus.  Well that’s loads, little did I realise!  Together we’ve been cavorting thick as thieves, history with virus recorded in human genome, having lengths of DNA inserted all about.  Willy-Nilly??  What a time to be alive to learn this!  If can cause disease not known but some beneficial!  Like ‘Syncytin’ protein formed from gene derived virus insertion, protein since involved in creating placenta!  Where we’d be without that, born in eggs breaking out of shells poking with tiny fingers and toes?  Insertion happened ~25 million years ago.  Another inserted DNA, MER11-G4, activates human stem cells in neural cells, now essential!  Our gut contains trillions of fungi, bacteria, and virus infects to control bacteria (bacteriophage).  Such gut micros produce neurotransmitters affecting mood, influence behavior and personality, delivered by ‘Gut-Brain axis’.  Virus involved with who we are!  Two-way street with them, significant ways virus shoved us up evolution’s flag pole, notched up our increased intelligence.  While being worst enemy by miles, having frequent nasty different ways non-stop killing by millions!  Likely always amused by our tardiness, easy target humans never improve.  Forever hideous virus causing bedlam, we need more adequate defense.  Virus exploited and prospered from poverty lives.  Hygiene helped us!

 

Victorian times banished now we be living ‘Royal’.

 

Suburban house three inside bathrooms, laundry with robot cleaning machines.  Past encounter’s micro-combatants judged us ‘extreme loser’.   Still not an end to them they’ll adapt.   

 

Soap, detergent, hot water, frequent baths with tiny boats.

Hey virus how you can still fight?

How you like hot iron on sheets?

Feel the heat?

Yeah man!

 

Vaccines. Near beginning the end for them wee yokes? Not so fast! Still seeking opportunities to cause our demise.  Walking rings around us for millenniums spreading basket full of incomprehensible diseases.  Even today loads have eschewed vaccines, making rash decision while gaining no immunity. 

 

Only slagging us.

Translate!

‘Bring it on Homo sap-iens.

Losers!

Virus rule this world.

You as Fish in a barrel.

On our Planet.’

 

Decades of dedicated vaccine research and drugs to target disease where none came easy.  Valuable barrier protect from dying, otherwise allow to terrorize us and wee children.  I’ve no blind trust in science but based on sterling success record, rather than hoards railing about ‘vaccine dangers’.  Real danger is not being vaccinated.  They who have best iron clad vaccines will prevail, they’ll save the world.   Laggards entered our age of understanding currently making disastrous decisions, but that’s something at which we all excel.

Oh little faith ye, no idea of devils up against.

Read history books. 

Don’t discard shields until battle over, ain’t over by long shot.

Vaccine shots gifted longer lease on lives.

 

Earth’s supreme species. Once us as contenders with old man Orangutan, Chimp and Gorilla largest primate, ‘ten men cannot hold one’.  Then 7 million years ago primates forked by mysterious ways, (was time enough).  Go your way, we will walk alone down roads never before traveled, although forever burdened by relations with primates being 98% identical.  Whenever watching a monkey I’ve one question, ‘What on earth happened?  How closely related are we?  Really of same stock, meaning no offence?  Stalled since fork where we got that bounce.  Obviously magnificent 2% proof more to life than spiral DNA.  SilverBack glares through thick glass, astonished by our slight of hand magic, don’t know half of it.  Do hope they’ve never witnessed magicians trick of ‘sawing’ female in half!  Why strength not prevail ‘Beast over brawn’, 321,000 of them Gorilla, us at 8.3 billion fighting above our weight.  Primates faltered stagnated, we left them behind soared with Wright brothers, Apollos and good value all inclusive Cruise liners.  Brain smarter than average, our women folk having best childers!   Winning those odds holds hope for outlier Ireland lifting World Cups, maybe not tomorrow.  How we roamed mostly hairless in freezing Europe, then spears nicked leather fur coats from easy pickings neighbourhood beasts.  Anyway heavy bulky Gorilla on rickety wooden ‘planes’ fail to launch, stuck in sand dunes.  Then what? 

 

Don’t get happy too early,

even measles out and about.

Laid us waste many a time.

When possible.

Take refuge.

Stay inside.

There’s TV life!

What’s better?

 

Doomsayer.  Virus important ‘roles’ in our lives.  I’m not smart enough to cry ‘Wolf!’ even ‘Poodle!’.  Neither a Nostradamus musing how we will end our world.   Tinkering where we’ve no reason or business.  Now bestowing viruses with superior misfunction abilities, easy ways can be achieved not rocket science no more, now biology’s ‘Sputnik’ next up their Moon-Shot.  In the works?   Cooking in remote places, pipeline waiting to be paraded. 

Only can get worse.

 

‘Covid’ clocked in with 7.1 million deaths under it’s belt.  Plenty more caves where Virus come from.

 

Ability manipulating DNA sequence started ~1980’s.

Now making virus more lethal.

Hey Scientists maybe ‘enough is enough’!

Instead of causing disease goal is cure!

Not our Annihilation.

Maybe go sell bananas instead.

Make a buck in the markets.

Be more useful.

 

Drop of seawater ~10 million viruses, 1 million bacteria.  Flu season scrambling with their annual pesky natural mutation.   Our recent past one virus locked down the planet, caused bedlam had us masked as bandits and shut in.   Now on brink of an abyss?  Lives fighting against old virus and next ones.

 

Keep!

“Do not enter I’m infected.”

Not gone away.

  

Some determined with altering bug design, can be done!  Every cave needs locked doors, hole so bat can fly out not suffer, let soar aloft with robins.  Nipah virus another scary spread by fruit bats, things could get dire, best watch out!   Nipah virus lethal for 40 to 75%, vaccine trials are underway.   My arm is ready.  As with Churchill 1939 in darkest times there are answers might save us.  Previous we shocked micro-bug world, when penicillin hit bacteria.  Declared us breed apart not taken kindly for losing!   Finally we rattled them.

Surprise!

Rare experience for bugs.

Response?

‘Screw you and your Penicillin.’

 

Lesson for bacteria, humans smarter not such easy prey. No more. Now Brilliant scientists discovered a virus Achillies heel.  With soldiering along virus close up photos exposed potential ‘weakness’ as every picture tells stories, after all research a potent drug succeeded!

 

Humans forever not knowing what was afflicting.

Peek aboo virus, now we see you.

Meant lots!

 

Europe’s current mayhem drones and bombs.  Why bother?   Hustle virus from caverns, make lethal then ‘Bob’s your uncle’.  Effective way to dispose enemies, not marching armies!  Need hard and fast moratorium for such virus escapades, controlling like nuclear ammunition.  Recent bitter taste of this whether lab created or natural it was new origin.  Someone carried it from cave to laboratory.  Better left alone in dark caves under forever lock-down.  Human-virus partners not encouraged, greatest threat to our future on the planet.  ‘Yes’ even compared with ‘Climate change’, maybe still risk tans on Howth Head.   With winter + degrees, issue of these times!  Hardly.   While outside be freezing.

 

Wars not only domain of Despots. Virus goals achieved proud of human mass destruction, figured lay of land striking lame targets. Never knew what felled us, Goliath and David experience. Virus New World conquest, sailor’s immunity from their home town squalors. Carried mixed pox, cholera, measles, diphtheria, influenza, typhoid fever, bubonic plague, and others.  While natives isolated, lacked immunity then paid the price.

History of wars.

Say no more!

Desecrating native populations.

Learn!

Never shake hands with Space aliens!

Unless their Bots.

 

Tools to Target Virus. As our World turns got lowdown on meddlesome virus with giant microscope, major game changer. Turned the tide, Advantage us, for once! With virus modus operandi, understand devious tormentor more, magnifying what we’ve been up against.

 

Virus.

Now days.

Maybe not required.

Any longer.

Dead or alive!

 

Virus origin unknown, provide lots of hand waving having no applause.  Major goal of drug therapy targeting virus, improve potency, also less frequent drug requirement.  Previous viral drugs targeted their proteins, proved advantage with AIDS, now manageable if ‘chronic’ disease.  Problem having HIV mutations evade drugs, constant screening for new drugs.  

Not bitten off more than we can chew.

Literature now reports drugs targeting ‘Capsid’ sites, revealing potential universal viral Achilles heel.  What is the capsid?  Each virus has a capsid that encases their genome, less prone to genetic mutations that location likely fits all.  Scientists conducted years long search for drugs impairing capsid development, used test tube assay dealing with thousands of compounds!  Years forward reported potent drug at capsid site, throwing wrench in capsid assembly.  Clinical trial treat HIV infection successful!  Patients require drug administration once every six months, once a year on the horizon!  Fabulous progress!  Indicates way defeating most virus.

 

Capsid target?

Rising tide lifts all boats.

As bark on trees photos reveal many virus cut from same cloth.

Found right end of the stick.

 

Imagine accumulated knowledge required for that!   Leads to drugs targeting other virus capsids, ST-148 antiviral drug capsid inhibitor, developed for treatment of dengue fever.  

 

Colluding with Enemy. Even with today’s science knowledge, we still get hammered by wee yoke emerging from caves.

 

Perilous.

Hey leave those bats alone.

Otherwise? 

Howzat!

 

In all our times forever cornered by ‘virus’, now are we speeding progress of their carnage?  Like they needed any help.  Virus and human collaboration lethal partnerships! Nor being Nostradamus’s second cousin to predict bad actors will beef up virus, ripping on their enemies.  They control who gets vaccine, recent experience mere aperitif, all necessary cats now escaped out from that bag.  Virus boosted getting ‘rescued’ from it’s roost, hitching rides all over, not needing thumb a lift when they have warm bodies.  Flying all over packing their heavy load of misery. 

 

That’s

where Virus hits the Fan!

 

Need lab with skillful minds armed with pipettes, have cockeyed evil intentions, while garbed in protective white coats and glasses.  Nefarious cunning scientists, wanting advance to head of their game.  

 

Nothing went unnoticed in ‘lock down’.

By Evil doers.

No shortage of bad intent humans.

 

Virus no longer need rely on ‘pot luck’, natural functional gains take ages.  Human now adept inserting ‘Gain of Function’, speed up unreliable chances.  That Genie now harnessed in test-tubes, virus sharpened by those skilled in the arts.

No?

We’ve assisted lethal virus before, history writ large with colluding!  Onetime colonists in Pennsylvania used two small pox virus infected blankets gifted to natives that had their desired effect.  Small pox blanket was despicable.  Now with facing world-wide ‘blankets’ working such intentions.  Lots in common each seeking nefarious advantage.

 

Enlisting us?

Remember some among us bad as Virus.

Birds of a feather having common goals.

See WW2 claimed ~75 million Human deaths.

Destruct Together!

They’ve no beating heart, but brain? 

Some of us brain but no heart! 

Deadly union human and virus, combo on steroids.

Having chaos a common goal.

Scratching each other’s back,

let it loose not go belly up.

 

Horse and cart to sporty car, crafty virus converted mild SID into HIV, notorious HIV resulted with 40 million dead.  

Mess not with that beast.

Partners in carnage.

Most dangerous words.

Virus ‘gain of function’!

Humans must not help.

Them!

What’s gained?

Only ‘Yikes’!

 

Aliens Not Helping? When eventually we encounter space aliens (They exist), likely older having that march on us, still most conceivable we are smarter.  They just know more.

 

Why they only be sneaking about?

Not how we’d behave.

Being curious to celebrate.

Keeping six feet distant and masked.

Céad Míle Fáilte!

 

Accept they’re mostly not available lending hands (or claws).  Sense aliens perhaps as sheep dogs in clouds herding us down the lane, while we running in weeds.  Follow trail of mixed crumbs not despite but because of our innate instincts.  Perhaps exists over-arching strategy nudged us forward bit by bit, behind the curtain while pointing right direction.  They’ve set guard rails.  For sure recorded all our history, but deemed not constructive to expose libraries of such visions.  Yet.  Too disruptive, accept they know best?  They could empty hospitals with cures but choose not to save poor souls.  ‘Experience’ not be handed on a plate, way universe works.  Universe rule figure it out yourselves, otherwise never get wisdom.  Life does itch by inch forward, meandering viable ways.  Burdened by dreadful dictators with lap-dogs drag us to dark sides, having decent folk appalled.  

 

Aliens mantra.

DIY!

Ain’t no Santa Claus.

Dropping birthday treats along the way.

Reverse engineering?

Electronics like magic appeared?

Transistorized!

In a flash.

Vacuum tubes went bye-bye.

Who knew how!

 

Harbinger?

Still happy times in virus land.

Not easy controlling them likes.

Deviants may claim,

can’t beat then join them.

More speedy not leave to chance.

Harnessed us in their misdeeds.

Understand their advantage.

Or disadvantage?

Once with time on their side.

Beginning of an end?

(Or … blank)

Wait and see.

 

Structure. Us and bacteria cell structures in common.  Virus different creatures altogether, not cellular not bothered, busy harnessing (aka stealing) other’s cell machinery.  We’ve uncovered lots about myriad virus abilities sneak into cells, sometimes inserts genes into our DNA.  We’ve DNA genomes, while some virus genetics are RNA, they figured converting RNA into DNA, as they invade with having us make them.  Not always for our benefit.  Seeking advantage.  No better than pirates sailing Caribbean seas, pillage ships sailing (aka stealing) miner’s gold.  Perhaps aware historically that presence spelled curtains for us.  Loaded with cunning abilities to harness mayhem.  More twists and twirls in their wee wheel house than today’s gymnast.  Now eager to enlist us evading viral drugs!  We a mixed breed, make vaccines and cause pandemics.  Variety not always be spice of life.

 

World never before challenged by likes of us. 

With the starch white coats.

Still slippery.

Why Space aliens watch.

No hugs.

________________________________

 

Religion our saviour with steeples high above reckless ambitions.  Spire to inspire, they do and long may protect us.  Without such, nothing meaningful to call upon out here in the void, hijacked from where we emerged hampered carrying our collection of base instincts.  Got gifted two essential assets smarts with opposable thumbs, by leaps and bounds we’ve entered golden discovery age.  Visions of Creator’s raft of objects for cell explorers, battles winning as no previous generation, daily research reports in journal after journal never fail to amaze how great we are.  What knowledge gained as magic to ancestors that carried us here, dots connected determined even blue sky’s not high enough to limit.  Ability!

 

Now!

With our genetics?

Handing us such intelligence?

On a plate?

Wise?

Not for me to query.

With Heaven desired port of call.

Up there!

Fingers, thumbs crossed.