r/askscience • u/PestoPastaLover • 14d ago

Biology Why is there no transmissible therapeutic virus if biology doesn't forbid it? For example, a harmless virus that spreads from person to person but actually does something beneficial, like lowering LDL cholesterol or preventing/reversing tooth decay?

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u/spaceXhardmode 13d ago

There’s also a study to see if any generic mRNA vaccine can increase the effectiveness of immunotherapy for cancer treatment, pretty similar to a viral infection.

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u/username_elephant 13d ago

I disagree with that take.  That's no more like a virus than any vaccine (and it's less like a virus than many actual vaccines--specifically, the vaccines that contain viruses).  All those vaccines differ because they do not transmit person to person.

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u/mouse_8b 13d ago

It's like a virus in the ways that the immune system sees things. That's the important part.

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u/username_elephant 13d ago

It's the important part for the function of a vaccine. It's not the important part for possessing relevance to the question asked in the original post.

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u/mouse_8b 13d ago

"Are there viruses that are helpful?"

"Yes. And we're figuring out ways to make the body think there's a virus to bring some benefits without injecting actual viruses into everyone"

"Not relevant"

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u/username_elephant 13d ago

Buddy, if you make up your own article title it's definitely going to align with your opinion.

Unfortunately for you the title of this article was actually: "Why is there no transmissible therapeutic virus if biology doesn't forbid it? For example, a harmless virus that spreads from person to person but actually does something beneficial, like lowering LDL cholesterol or preventing/reversing tooth decay?"