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Vintage Diseases Making a Comeback 403

An anonymous reader writes "MSNBC has a piece on a recent resurgence in some old-timey diseases. Mumps, Whooping Cough, and Rickets are making a comeback, back in style like it's 1955." From the article: "Public-health officials certainly weren't expecting to get 'bitten' by mumps this year. Although the virus has been circulating in British kids since 2000, it hadn't caused much trouble in the United States since an outbreak in Kansas 18 years ago. The Midwest is the epicenter again, but the victims are primarily college students, not children. Once a childhood disease, the virus has now taken hold in university towns. That's partly because crowded dorms and cafeterias are breeding grounds for germs that are spread by sneezing and coughing."

Comment Re:Synthetic analogue (Score 1) 15

Basically, if this takes off, we'll all hear about it in the Cancer world. The problem with cancer drugs is that they kill just about every type of cell, not just damaged ones. So trying to get them to just target those damaged, cancerous cells is more than just a little challenge.

Another way of looking at it is that every drug has side effects, and they usually result from the drug acting in places where we did not intend. Imagine cutting out most of these side effects. The state of medicine today will be revolutionised.

Good luck to them!

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