> were HIV to mutate away from being able to bind to those chunks it too would become less virulent when attacking the real proteins.
Forgive my ignorance, but are there any indicators to predict whether a virus will evolve one way or another?
What I mean is, once it comes in contact with these mimic proteins, instead of mutating away from binding to these proteins, can it not mutate in such a way that it increases its virility so that it will bind onto more proteins in an effort to combat "false positives"? So it'll become even more virulent in individuals that have not received this treatment, and maintain its current virility in individuals receiving such treatments?
Forgive my ignorance, but are there any indicators to predict whether a virus will evolve one way or another?
What I mean is, once it comes in contact with these mimic proteins, instead of mutating away from binding to these proteins, can it not mutate in such a way that it increases its virility so that it will bind onto more proteins in an effort to combat "false positives"? So it'll become even more virulent in individuals that have not received this treatment, and maintain its current virility in individuals receiving such treatments?