A biological engineer at MIT has potentially, probably, maybe found the cure to every virus on the planet (please let it be booze, please let it be booze...)
So all of you conspiracy theorists who believe that the government has already got the cure to deadly viruses locked up, you could be onto something.
Todd Rider has claimed that he has the formula to the cure but there's one problem. In one son-of-a-bitch twist, he doesn't have the money to take it any further.
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So, Zika or Hepatitis among other viruses won't be eradicated anytime soon. Even though many have waved their arms and campaigned after his discovery of double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligmerizer (DRACO), 15 years ago, he has simply got no funds. Therefore, he cannot follow up meaningfully on his successful preliminary tests that he's already carried out.
Rider is currently resting up in a spot that scientists refer to as the 'Valley of Death' - where his mind has more potential than his bank balance will allow. This is the place between research and funding. Could this be even more proof that the government won't cure disease?
In the hope to raise awareness of his research and collect funds to take his research forward, the scientist has released a video. Hoping to go viral, he explains how DRACO works to non-science minds like myself.
#EndTheVirusVideo credit: YouTube/Killing Sickness
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Rider spoke to Inverse about his discovery and the challenges that he faces to take it any further.
He said: "I invented DRACO to combine those two natural systems and kill virus-infected cells. Just as the development of antibiotics completely revolutionised the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections in the mid-20th century, I believe that DRACO has the potential to completely revolutionise the treatment and prevention of viral infections in the 21st century."
In theory, Rider believes that one DRACO design should be effective against a range of viruses. Having carried out tests on mice, his plans are ambitious and first require him to alter the nature of the mice he experiments on.
"My ultimate goal is to develop DRACO in a pill form, but first I have to teach the mice how to swallow pills," he said. That doesn't sound like an easy task for starters.
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If all goes well, the scientist hopes that DRACO could enter human trials within the next decade.
I don't know about you, but this sounds like the start of a zombie apocalypse to me.
Featured image credit: YouTube/Killing Sickness
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