Eos of the Eons
22nd July 2008, 08:04 PM
http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/54844/
Maybe. This one is plant-based, so might be viewed as more "natural", even though we humans are quite far from being plants.
The successful results (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0803636105) of a phase I clinical trial suggest that plants could provide a safe, inexpensive reservoir to "grow" vaccines for the common human cancer, according to a study published tomorrow (July 22) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The virus is scratched onto the leaves of a tobacco plant, where it begins to replicate. After a week, the plant is harvested, the protein quickly purified, and the vaccine injected into the patient. Total time from biopsy to treatment averages three to four months, according to the paper. Animal-based vaccine production for B-cell lymphoma takes double that time, said Levy.
Maybe. This one is plant-based, so might be viewed as more "natural", even though we humans are quite far from being plants.
The successful results (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0803636105) of a phase I clinical trial suggest that plants could provide a safe, inexpensive reservoir to "grow" vaccines for the common human cancer, according to a study published tomorrow (July 22) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The virus is scratched onto the leaves of a tobacco plant, where it begins to replicate. After a week, the plant is harvested, the protein quickly purified, and the vaccine injected into the patient. Total time from biopsy to treatment averages three to four months, according to the paper. Animal-based vaccine production for B-cell lymphoma takes double that time, said Levy.