Can This Special Snot Stop the Flu? | Freethink On the Fringe скачать в хорошем качестве

Can This Special Snot Stop the Flu? | Freethink On the Fringe

Every year, the flu hospitalizes and even kills hundreds of thousands of people. To prepare, the World Health Organization releases to vaccine-makers its predictions of which flu strains it believes will be active. But given how quickly the viruses evolve, their predictions aren't always right. Researchers have begun looking at old snot from cancer patients to help. Because these patients’ immune systems are compromised, they fought infections for more than two months. This allows researchers to study all the various mutations that took place and use that data to more accurately predict which strains will be active during the next flu season, so they can prepare better targeted flu shots. For more stories profiling pioneers of science and tech innovation, subscribe to Freethink at    / freethinkmedia   Join the freethink forum to share stories and your own projects:   / freethinkforum   And follow Freethink across other platforms here: Facebook:   / freethinkmedia   Twitter:   / freethinkmedia   Instagram:   / freethinkmedia   Website: http://www.freethink.com