According to CNN, scientists at Chungnam National University's College of Veterinary Medicine are reporting that they have discovered a candidate strain for the H1N1 virus, formerly known as "swine flu" or "pigfluenza." At right is Seo Sang-heui (서상희) from that team. Read the CNN article for the caveats and the wait-and-see stuff.
As I explained at Brian's, this is not really some great technological breakthrough; making vaccines for virus strains that are floating around is a fairly mechanical process. Had Chungnam National University not done this — and we need testing to verify it and make sure it's useful — some other school, company, or institution would have done it eventually.
Rather than a technological breakthrough, it is a public health breakthrough, because it means we may finally have a way to prevent the spread of the virus other than washing hands, quarantining, and being careful, a combination that isn't always effective.
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At least it's something positive for SK in world news... One of the first things in awhile :)
ReplyDeleteActually there's a fair amount of news in the international press about South Korea weathering the economic crisis better than most. And if you count Hyundai news in America, there are a lot of stories about Hyundai (and Kia) doing pretty well compared to American and European carmakers, and even most Japanese companies.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, even I don't see this story as being a story with legs. This is no Snuppy-like story, and there is already a growing number of medical topics that get the attention of international media.