• Question: how could we stop being ill

    Asked by Noo Noo to Ryan, Claire on 21 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Ryan Cheale

      Ryan Cheale answered on 21 Jun 2015:

      I don’t think we will, i think in future it’ll be less likely but we’re an organism we have every chance of infection.

    • Photo: Claire Bryer

      Claire Bryer answered on 21 Jun 2015:

      It depends on what the illness is. In the future we may be better able to predict the coming strains of cold and flu so we can vaccinate against it.
      We are also getting better (and faster) at developing vaccines and treatments for outbreaks.

      For illnesses that are inherited (i.e. not things you catch, but where your DNA tells your body to do things wrong) I think we should be able to eliminate these in time, using something called gene therapy.

      Ultimately we will always get ill from time to time, as bugs find new ways to change (and evolve) to attack. This isn’t a bad thing, as it makes our immune system stronger.

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