Louis Pasteur developed Jenner's approach: he grew the rabies virus in a host organism unusual for this pathogen, repeatedly transferring pathogenic material from one animal to another, and created a rabies vaccine as a result. The idea was to obtain a weakened pathogen, and then chemically treat it to kill it or at least damage the virulent particles, the nature of which was not yet known at that time. Later, passive immunization also entered the arsenal of means — the introduction of protein antibodies from an animal that had previously come into contact with the pathogen; in this case, the drug was often selected purely statistically from a set of serums from several animals. Many of our victories over measles, mumps, polio, rubella and some other diseases have been achieved in this way. Such procedures have little effect on molecular biology. They follow the traditional strategy of breeders: choose the most suitable natural varieties for a specific purpose and try to maintain them by cultivating under optimal conditions.

In addition to the general article by the editors of the publication, the collection contains brief descriptions of 66 works that were reported in 1983 to a representative audience of highly qualified specialists. They attempt to test new methods of combating viruses based on a detailed knowledge of the molecular mechanism of infection and its response. An infectious virus is no longer considered just as an organism, but also from a physical point of view — as a kind of recorded and sealed message. Both its "text" with a virulence program and its "envelope" — a protein shell open to various kinds of effects — can be intentionally modified in order to obtain effective, safe and cheap broad-spectrum vaccines.

In principle, it is possible to create vaccines containing only some key viral proteins without any nucleic acid at all. They will be unable to cause infection, but if successful, they will be able to induce intense antibody formation. By applying this approach to the measles virus, the researchers were faced with a surprise. The virus envelope protein is a glycoprotein (carbohydrate residues are attached to the polypeptide chain). Two components were obtained from the shell. It was known that specific antibodies are produced in the patient's body for one of them, which circulate in the bloodstream. The second component causes cell fusion, as well as fusion of red blood cells and viral particles. It turned out that if these components were used as a vaccine, long-term immunity did not occur, and some of the subjects who received the vaccine developed an erased form of measles. The antibodies induced by the vaccine were unable to prevent pathological cell fusion; apparently, the fusion-causing component was inactivated during protein separation so that it could no longer induce proper immunity. The vaccine provided satisfactory immunity against one of the components, so it neutralized the virus in vitro. However, in the blood of patients, the virus still caused cell fusion. It is not an easy task to interfere with intricate biological mechanisms, which, however, breeders have long known from experience. The conclusion is clear: the goal should be a "balanced immune response to all protective antigenic determinants of the virus," as in natural infections. New players looking for a strong start in online betting and casino games often turn to platforms with massive welcome packages. Registering on 1Win allows you to claim one of the most generous offers available today. The process is simple: create an account and enter a special code during signup. This instantly activates 1win promo code 500% welcome bonus up to $1025 across your first four deposits. These extra funds help you place more bets on football, tennis, esports and enjoy hundreds of casino slots with increased playing time and better chances to win from the very beginning.