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POSTED BY: CHRIS MALORE VIA STUDYFINDS<\/p>\n
GMO Lettuce and spinach could carry the mRNA vaccine directly into humanity\u2019s food supply, obviating \u201cinformed choice\u201d. This follows virus development where a GMO contagious virus would carry the mRNA vaccine. Why are Transhuman scientists so bent on changing the genetic structure of mankind? Humans 2.0. \u2043\u2043\u2043 TN Editor<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
Vaccinations can be a controversial subject for many people, especially when it comes to injections. So what if you could replace your next shot with a salad instead? Researchers at the University of California-Riverside are working on a way to grow edible plants that carry the same medication as an mRNA vaccine.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0COVID-19 vaccine<\/a>\u00a0is one of the many inoculations which use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology to defeat viruses. They work by teaching cells from the immune system to recognize and attack a certain infectious disease. Unfortunately, mRNA vaccines have to stay in cold storage until use or they lose stability. The UC-Riverside team says if they\u2019re successful, the public could eat plant-based mRNA vaccines \u2014 which could also survive at room temperature.<\/p>\n Thanks to a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, researchers are now looking accomplish three goals. First, the team will try to successfully deliver DNA containing\u00a0mRNA vaccines<\/a>\u00a0into plant cells, where they can replicate. Next, the study authors want to show that plants can actually produce enough mRNA to replace a traditional injection. Finally, the team will need to determine\u00a0the right dosage<\/a>\u00a0people will need to eat to properly replace vaccinations.<\/p>\n \u201cIdeally, a single plant would produce enough mRNA to vaccinate a single person,\u201d says Juan Pablo Giraldo, an associate professor in UCR\u2019s Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, in a\u00a0university release.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe are testing this approach with\u00a0spinach and lettuce<\/a>\u00a0and have long-term goals of people growing it in their own gardens,\u201d Giraldo adds. \u201cFarmers could also eventually grow entire fields of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Giraldo and a team of scientists from UC-San Diego and Carnegie Mellon University say the key to making edible vaccines are chloroplasts. These are small organs inside plant cells which help convert sunlight into energy.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re tiny, solar-powered factories that produce sugar and other molecules which allow the plant to grow,\u201d Giraldo explains. \u201cThey\u2019re also an untapped source for making desirable molecules.\u201d<\/p>\n Previous studies have shown that it\u2019s possible for chloroplasts to express genes which are not a natural part of that plant. Giraldo\u2019s team accomplished this by sending genetic material inside of a protective casing into plant cells.<\/p>\n In the new study, Giraldo teamed with UC-San Diego\u2019s Professor Nicole Steinmetz to\u00a0use nanotechnology<\/a>\u00a0to deliver more genetic material into chloroplasts.<\/p>\n \u201cOur idea is to repurpose naturally occurring nanoparticles, namely plant viruses, for gene\u00a0delivery to plants<\/a>,\u201d Steinmetz says. \u201cSome engineering goes into this to make the nanoparticles go to the chloroplasts and also to render them non-infectious toward the plants.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the reasons I started working in nanotechnology was so I could apply it to plants and create new technology solutions. Not just for food, but for high-value products as well, like pharmaceuticals,\u201d Giraldo adds.<\/p>\nPlants are capable of growing more vaccines<\/h3>\n