In an ironic twist on its infamous role as a cause of deadly tumors, tobacco might soon offer physicians a way to rapidly make vaccines tailored to fight a patient's specific cancer. This role reversal stems from the ability of a well-studied pathogen, the tobacco mosaic virus, to force an infected plant to mass-produce the proteins of the virus. A biotech firm has exploited this capability by slipping selected genes into the viruses and using them to turn tobacco into a protein factory.
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