Anti-Spam Software Used to Fight AIDS

[catbirdseat]

Most interesting news story of the day. Microsoft is going to adapt AntiSpam technologies to help develop an effective vaccine for AIDS. Apparently, the virus mutates rapidly so as to disguise itself from the immune system, much in the same way that Spam messages do.

 

Spam Filter Story

Edited February 23, 2005 by catbirdseat

[Dru]

Considering how bug ridden and prone to attacks Msoftware is I dont know if I'd want the Gates designing my immune system?

[Bogen]

The current Microsoft anti-spyware software, available as a free download, is hands down the best available, and is maybe the finest thing microsoft has made to date.

[Couloir]

The current Microsoft anti-spyware software, available as a free download, is hands down the best available, and is maybe the finest thing microsoft has made to date.

Maybe it's just me, but I like Ad-Aware and Spybot. It's bad enough that the hackers of the world target Microsoft OS. This is just one more thing they can focus on to corrupt.

 

Maybe Lynux or a Mac is really the way to go.

[catbirdseat]

The story isn't so much about Spam as it is about AIDS. One of the reasons why we still have Spam and we still don't have an AIDS vaccine is that both mutate faster than anti-spam software and the immune system can adapt. The key is learning how to detect the "message" within the garbage. Our brains are very good at it and that is the one think Spammers rely on.

 

There was a story just today about how the three dimensional shape of the GP120 protein in the unbound state has just be elucidated. GP120 is the protein the HIV uses to bind to and enter the T-cell. Apparently, it changes shape drastically upon binding. The shape of the bound protein was known. GP-120 has been the target of numerous vaccines, but none have worked. It may well be that although the genetic sequence of GP-120 is variable, the shape may be conserved. This may be useful eventually.