Podcasts Health FutureTech Podcast Chloroplast Genetic Engineering: An Unprecedented Technique with Numerous BenefitsTedrick Thomas Salim LewDepartment of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Chloroplast Genetic Engineering: An Unprecedented Technique with Numerous BenefitsTedrick Thomas Salim LewDepartment of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Published: June 24, 2019, 11:21 a.m.

b'

The conventional genetic engineering approach in plants targets plant nuclei, which means it\\u2019s limited by the fact that there is only one nucleus in a plant. But what if there was a method of genetic engineering that could target a plant\\u2019s 50 to 60 chloroplasts?\\xa0


Dr. Tedrick Thomas Salim Lew works as part of a team of engineers at MIT with the goal of accomplishing something that\\u2019s never been done before: gaining control of plant genomes by introducing DNA nanoparticles into their chloroplasts, and thereby making plants more efficient users of nutrients, increasing their growth rate, causing them to produce more protective antibodies, and allowing for the production of\\xa0hormones that can be used for human drug and vaccine development.\\xa0


He explains how this method will significantly decrease the cost and minimize the steps involved in the production of vaccines and touches on several other potential applications of this technology.\\xa0

'