The results suggest that this synthetic genetic
system may be a new antimicrobial strategy that
could be applied in the fight against P. aeruginosa
or other infectious pathogens. It is also possible
that this mechanism could be modified to
become active against other similar molecules
produced by the quorum sensing systems of other
pathogens, such as Vibrio cholera or Helicobacter
pylori.
Another of the recent strategies is based upon
the manipulation of a virus. Imagine that we
were capable of developing a vehicle that was
sufficiently intelligent to selectively seek out
cancer cells, without affecting the remaining
healthy cells, and inject them with an antidote
that would lead to their death – a real ‘magic
bullet’ against cancer. This is, more or less,
what a group of researchers have achieved, as
published in a recent issue of Nature [3]. To
this end, the researchers genetically modified
the vaccinia virus, well-known for its use over
many years in the eradication of smallpox. They
designed a new strain of the virus, called JX-594,
so that it was able to replicate, express a foreign
gene and amplify in tumor cells. JX-594 is an