A group of Boston researchers have taken advantage of the human genome project, which is mapping the exact sequence of base pairs in human DNA, to form a new strategy for finding invading bacteria and viruses.
The battles between disease-causing pathogens and the body's defenses have evolved into a complex arms race of sorts. To better understand those battles and find new ways of blocking infection, researchers have turned to genomics — the analysis of an organism's thousands of genes and the roles they play.
Genetic engineering, often slammed by environmental and consumer groups for its role in altering staple foods, may have found a niche where it can help save the lives of millions from the world's most endemic diseases. By using biotechnology to incorporate useful genes into an almost limitless variety of common plants, from rapeseed and tobacco to potato, tomato and banana, scientists aim to produce cheap and stable vaccines in an edible form -- and beat disease.