Supplement: Turning Tobacco into Therapies
Turning Tobacco into Therapies By Jeffrey M. Perkel RELATED ARTICLES Innovative Technology Daniel Skovronsky: Scientist and leader Biofuel: The Potential Magic Bullet Britton Chance: Still searching for answers Art Caplan: Penn's renowned ethicist Technology Roundup The Delaware Technology Park in Newark just may be the site of the next revolution. There, in a two-story building aptly named "9 Innovation Way," the Fraunhofer USA Center for Mo
Jan 1, 2008

The Delaware Technology Park in Newark just may be the site of the next revolution. There, in a two-story building aptly named "9 Innovation Way," the Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB) is putting a sort of molecular spin on the age-old ideal of turning swords into plowshares.
In a development that could fundamentally redefine the technology of vaccine production, Fraunhofer's scientists are turning tobacco plants from weapons of mass addiction into medical tools. The center has devised a way to use the plants as chlorophyll-fueled factories dedicated to the manufacture of vaccine antigens, therapeutic proteins, and the like.
CMB calls its core technology "molecular farming" - genetic manipulation of plants with viral RNAs...
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