COMSATS Students To Use Mosquitoes As Flying Vaccines
The Rector of COMSATS Islamabad, Muhammad Tabassum Afzal, revealed that COMSATIANS are converting mosquitoes into flying vaccines.
In the Senate Standing Committee for Science and Technology, the Rector informed the committee that university students are researching mosquitoes to make them vaccine speeders rather than disease carriers.
How does the mosquito being a flying vaccine work?
While this phenomenon appears to be new, it dates back to 2011, when a group of Japanese researchers came up with the concept of turning mosquitoes, the disease’s super-spreaders, into flying vaccines.
When mosquitoes bite, they inject a tiny drop of saliva into our bloodstream, which keeps it from clotting. That set of scientists injected an antigen — a substance that causes the immune system to respond – into the mix of proteins in their saliva.
Laboratory mice bitten by these insects generated antibodies against the parasite, according to the study.
Mice must be bitten at least 1500 times a day on average to develop antibodies. Despite this, the researchers could not determine if the antibodies would be enough to protect a human from infection.
Regardless of how wonderful the concept appears, the researchers concede that regulatory, ethical, and other issues will prevent the study from being conducted on humans.
COMSATS is where this MIGHT happen
Let’s see how a failed study can be revived! If all goes well, this WILL definitely put COMSATS on the map!
While the prior study on the phenomena has proven ineffective, watching how COMSATS students manage to pull it off will be fascinating.
Back in 2010, Shigeto Yoshida, a researcher of Jichi Medical University, proposed a method to use mosquitoes as vaccine carriers but failed.
These students from COMSATS can achieve the marvelous feat in the Medical field and make their county Pakistan proud.
Just imagine you are living in a world where everyone is getting vaccinations through mosquitoes. It will be like living in the future. A new disease arises, the mosquitoes will be on the rescue.
