Press Clips from 2021
September 20, 2021
Vaccines in your salad? Scientists growing medicine-filled plants to replace injections
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 UC San Diego and UC Riverside are working on a way to grow edible plants that carry the same medication as an mRNA vaccine. Full Story
September 16, 2021
These fridge-free, no-needle vaccines could be ready for the next pandemic
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been mired in logistical challenges. Most of the vaccines need to be kept at incredibly low temperatures. And you still need people to put those shots in arms, and to come back and do it all again for the second dose. Nicole Steinmetz, a professor of nanoengineering at UC San Diego, imagines another way: "thermally stable" vaccines that don't need to be transported in freezers, and which could come in a microneedle patch--that you could ship to people's homes and they can self-administer--or in one-dose implants, no second appointment needed. Full Story
September 8, 2021
Covid vaccine patch breakthrough
COVID vaccines that must be stored at certain temperatures are of little use to people living in remote areas with limited resources. In an attempt to overcome this barrier nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have pioneered potential vaccines, made using viruses from plants or bacteria, that are able to take heat. Full Story
September 8, 2021
COVID-19 Vaccine That Doesn't Need Refrigeration Could Come as Patch
Currently available COVID-19 vaccines come in the form of one or two injections and must be stored and transported at ultra-low temperatures in order to remain stable and effective. This temperature requirement poses challenges in areas where ultra-low temperature freezers are not widely available and precludes delivery methods that involve high temperatures in the manufacturing process. Nanoengineers at UC San Diego are working to develop new COVID-19 vaccines that are thermally stable enough to be easily transported around the globe and even be delivered through a single patch or implant. Full Story
September 8, 2021
Study: Plant-, Bacteria-based Vaccines Unaffected by COVID-19 Mutations
Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a COVID-19 vaccine that solves a trifecta of current issues: 1) it is stable at high temperatures and 2) it is seemingly unaffected by mutations, therefore bringing about the possibility of a future 3) pan-coronavirus vaccine. Full Story
August 17, 2021
Novel Cancer Immunotherapy Combination Slows Down Solid Tumor Growth in Mice
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy is a promising new approach to treat cancer and researchers are finding new ways to make CAR-T cell therapy safe and effective at treating solid tumors. The therapy has worked well for the treatment of some blood cancers and lymphoma, but not against solid tumors. Now, bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), have developed a cancer immunotherapy that pairs ultrasound with cancer-killing immune cells to destroy malignant tumors without harming normal tissue in mice. Full Story