December 22nd, 2004
A Vaccine For Heart Disease?
As our knowledge of biological mechanisms advances, reprogramming existing processes for new uses is proving to be a fruitful area of research. The BBC reports on efforts to convince the immune system to destroy the root cause of heart disease: "It works by priming the immune system to recognise types of cholesterol in the blood as foreign, so that it attacks and destroys them. New Scientist magazine reports animal tests by Sweden's Lund University found the jab could significantly reduce the build up of harmful deposits." This work is still uncertain and in the earliest stages, but it demonstrates that many potential uses can be found for each new technique added to the biomedical toolkit.