Bug barcode readers hold out promise of universal vaccines

**Veterinary** scientists have made a discovery that promises to deliver a new approach to fast **development** of cheap **vaccines** that are effective in all mammals – not just humans or another particular species. They propose that by harnessing the system that reads the biological ‘**barcodes**’ of infectious microbes such as food **poisoning** bacteria, **flu viruses** and protozoa that cause **malaria**, one vaccine could be made to prevent a particular disease in all mammals. The research is discussed in the new Autumn edition of Business, the quarterly magazine of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). "BBSRC":[ http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/media/releases/2009/091015_bug_barcode_readers_promise_universal_vaccines.html]

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