Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc.,
Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for
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July 29, 2002
U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"CSUS Lab Seek Vaccines You Can Eat"
Sacramento Bee (www.sacbee.com) (07/28/02) P. A1; Lau Bee, Edie
Researchers at California State University at Sacramento are
making inroads in their bid to make genetically engineered
"edible vaccines" and medicines. Leading the project is Nicholas
Ewing, associate professor of biology, who along with other
scientists, is altering the genetic makeup of tomatoes to produce
proteins that imitate some parts of the microbes and viruses that
cause diseases, such as HIV, smallpox, or cholera. Once
consumed, the proteins spur the body to develop immunity against
the actual pathogen. However, questions over the safety of
transgenic plants have attracted criticism from environmentalists
and the government, which has written new rules to segregate
drug-producing crops from regular food crops, and from releasing
their drug-making DNA into the environment.
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