A RELATIVE of the tobacco plant has been "hijacked" to convert it into a polio vaccine factory in new technology that has the potential to transform vaccine manufacture, scientists say.
The team at the John Innes Centre, in Norfolk, says the process is cheap, easy and quick, creating an authentic mimic of the polio virus, which tricks the immune system into mounting a defence.
This would be a significant improvement on the attenuated live virus vaccines that are currently used, scientists say.
The technology is not limited to polio and could be applied to other vaccines quickly and effectively.
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