Freedom or Tyranny.com

John Roach
National Geographic News
February 15, 2005

Scientists have shown that, for hepetitis B vaccine, genetically modified potatoes may be an alternative to the syringe and needle.

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes liver failure and liver cancer. Despite the availability of a safe, injectable vaccine, the virus currently infects an estimated 350 million people worldwide and kills about a million people every year.

In recent years scientists have raced to develop oral vaccines with genetically modified plants as a means to overcome the economic and safety limitations of syringe-and-needle vaccination programs, especially in developing countries.

“The whole concept of oral vaccines, versus injections, is a very attractive one. As you can imagine, we are used to taking things by mouth. They are easy, and there are not associated problems with potential contamination due to syringes and needles,” said Yasmin Thanavala, an immunologist at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

Previously researchers have shown that potatoes can deliver vaccines for intestinal pathogens such as the E. coli and Norwalk viruses, which enter the body via the mouth.

This week in the research journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Thanavala and colleagues report on the first human, or clinical, trial for a plant-derived HBV vaccine. HBV is transmitted by blood or sexual fluids.

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by: David Gutierrez
Naturalnews.com
Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has issued more than $8 million in grants to stimulate unconventional research, in the hopes of producing medical breakthroughs unlikely to emerge through traditional research channels.

In contrast to most grants, which require applicants to provide lengthy and detailed information, the Gates Foundation required applicants to submit only a two-page application, with no preliminary data needed. Eighty-one recipients were selected for starting grants of $100,000 each, out of more than 3,000 proposals. Recipients who show success in preliminary studies may receive follow-up grants of $1 million.

Tachi Yamada, president of the foundation’s global health program, said that he will not be disappointed if 90 percent of the projects fail.

“The point is that where there are currently no solutions, we must work hard to find new solutions,” he said. “We really believe that true innovation is needed. Some of the ideas might seem crazy, but there is a fine line between crazy and absolutely novel.”

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