Tobacco-derived 'plantibodies' enter the fight against Ebola

[El Presidente]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/06/uk-health-ebola-tobacco-feature-idUKKBN0G607H20140806

[leftimatic]

Any topic with the letters DNA scares the hell out of me. That's just the redneck hippy in me I guess. Science best stay the hell away from my humidor.

[Fuzz AI]

Hmm. Now if they could only introduce that protein in to all tobacco plants, and have it activate when burned and inhaled...

This article did make me ponder something... the word "inactivate". Who here uses the word "inactivate" as opposed to "deactivate"? Both mean the same thing (verb: to make inactive), but to me it seems a little unusual to say "inactivate".

Oh, and pardon the thread jack!

[MrGTO]

Tobacco has always worked for bee stings for me...

[jedipastor]

Hmm. Now if they could only introduce that protein in to all tobacco plants, and have it activate when burned and inhaled...

This article did make me ponder something... the word "inactivate". Who here uses the word "inactivate" as opposed to "deactivate"? Both mean the same thing (verb: to make inactive), but to me it seems a little unusual to say "inactivate".

Oh, and pardon the thread jack!

"Deactivate" for electronics--because a circuit/device is either active or it isn't, there are only 2 states of being here.

"Inactivate" for medicine--because something can be "active," present but "inactive," or not present at all, i.e. 3 states of being.

Some illnesses are cured by actually destroying the culprit body, but often the nasty isn't actually destroyed, it's "rendered inactive" or "inactivated" somehow so that it doesn't go away, but stops causing problems (stop it from reproducing, keep it from chemically binding to the necessary host cell, surround it in another body ... or if you're the FOX network, just cancel it like they did Firefly ... bastards).

[maxcjs0101]

"Deactivate" for electronics--because a circuit/device is either active or it isn't, there are only 2 states of being here.

"Inactivate" for medicine--because something can be "active," present but "inactive," or not present at all, i.e. 3 states of being.

Some illnesses are cured by actually destroying the culprit body, but often the nasty isn't actually destroyed, it's "rendered inactive" or "inactivated" somehow so that it doesn't go away, but stops causing problems (stop it from reproducing, keep it from chemically binding to the necessary host cell, surround it in another body ... or if you're the FOX network, just cancel it like they did Firefly ... bastards).

Learned something new today. Thanks!