Zika

            The Zika virus has had its uprising the past year. This virus spreading through mosquito bites, sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, and most importantly from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Last year, the Zika virus was struck fear into soon-to-be parents. This virus affected those who were pregnant, however the main problems arose with the babies that the mothers gave birth to. The newborns would have major birth defects including partially collapsed skull, damage to eye, limited joint movement, brain damage and most importantly, decrease in brain size. However, researches have further developed a study in which this virus can actually be used to suppress or even treat deadly brain cancers.

            In a study, scientists infected human and mice cells with the Zika virus. In both cells, the virus killed stem cells as thought, however the ones that were killed were ones that would go on to become an aggressive type of brain tumor, the highlight was that it left the healthy cells unharmed. The virus did not infect normal brain tissue, with this, they conducted more research, infecting mice with cancer and observing. Half of the mice infected with cancer were treated with the virus and the other left untreated. The mice who were treated with the virus had tumors that either shrank or grew at a slower rate, therefore living longer, half of them living over six weeks, compared to those untreated who died within two weeks. Further development of this research could bring viable and effective treatment plans to those who are infected with certain brain cancers, however more research is needed to find the effects of this potential treatment option to confirm if it is a reliable treatment option.