We often judge people before knowing everything about them, just like we judge viruses. Research says this mostly happens for two reasons: our lack of understanding and the influence of our initial impressions.
Our impression of viruses is negative. They are seen responsible for infections, pandemics, and widespread suffering, which they are; but believe me, there is more to viruses than that.
In my previous story, we saw how cunning they are (you can read it later from the link), and how they manipulate our inner world for their benefits. But, that’s only one side of the story. Viruses are not entirely bad. There’s a fascinating side to them as well. I know what you might be thinking — How can viruses possibly be good? After all, we know about the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of countless lives. Yes, you are correct, but that is our initial impression.
Now, let me tell you another story that will show you the other side of the coin. To make it very clear, I am not advocating for the viruses here. I will just present the facts in my story. Plain and clear. Then, you shall be the judge and decide on your own.
This is the story of a 42-year-old woman who had leukemia (blood cancer). The year was 1896, so you can imagine what the state of our medical treatments and technologies was. Her condition was severe. Doctors had tried everything, but nothing seemed to work. Her immunity was extremely weak, and her body grew weaker day by day. She was in constant pain, slowly losing hope. One day, doctors noticed that she had gotten infected by influenza. Everyone thought her life was doomed as she was already suffering and now influenza was making the situation worse. Then, she started to change — not in a bad way, but in a good one. She started feeling better. The pain lessened. Doctors ran tests and found out that her cancer had dropped by a whopping 70-fold. Yes, you read that right. The cancer slowly vanished from her body. And one fine day, she smiled again. Beautiful, isn’t it?
Later, it was concluded that the virus was eating away the cancer. That was surprising for everyone. No one had thought of viruses as our friends. Heck, no one had imagined that such a thing could happen. This one case literally changed the medical world. So much so, that it is now a fact that some viruses can kill cancer cells. This is just one story; there are countless other stories in which several viruses help cancer patients recover. It’s important to note that only specific viruses have the ability to do this. They are truly a blessing in disguise.
Scientists call them ‘Oncolytic viruses’, which means cancer-killing viruses. Interestingly, they do so while leaving our healthy cells unharmed. What’s even more fascinating is that we can even modify these viruses and transform them from killers to ‘Super Killers’ that target cancer cells with more efficiency. We can make them work for us. We can save lives of people. In fact, we’re already saving lives using this very approach.
My favorite study was done at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, in which a single dose of the virus eliminated almost 90% of the lymphoma (cancer of our immune system), and that too with minor and temporary side effects. You can have a look at the linked photo. Crazy, right?
Can you believe something that was always known for causing suffering and illness, is now being used to help us fight cancer? It’s like making a former enemy our friend and harnessing their power to save lives.
With that, I rest my case. As you can see, viruses aren’t entirely bad. They can help us by killing cancer cells. I believe that’s a positive side, what do you say? Was I able to show you the other side of viruses?
If this story has changed your impression of viruses, then I will leave you with one takeaway message. Next time before you judge someone, take time to seek a complete understanding and don’t forget to challenge your impressions. After all, as the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover. 😉
Comments