Looks like researchers at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California have tested a vaccine for obesity in rats. I find this research interesting not because of the fixing obesity standpoint, but because they are developing an antigen for a hormone, Ghrelin found naturally in the body.
Microbiology has been changing the meaning of the word 'vaccine'. Wikipedia defines vaccine as "A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to produce active immunity to a disease, in order to prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by any natural or "wild" strain of the organism." Now we are talking about using similar techniques to train the body to down regulate hormone levels. I'd be curious to see what other lines of research are following this kind of technique.
Monday, August 07, 2006
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