A common chemical found in urine can be used to kick-start large-scale production of proteins such as hormones and antibodies used by biotech companies.
A common chemical found in urine can be used to kick-start large-scale production of proteins such as hormones and antibodies used by biotech companies.
Researchers at the University of Birmingham and Aston University, in the U.K., have developed a system that uses urea to trigger the production of these proteins in the large quantities needed by the biotech industry.
Typically, in this process, small pieces of DNA are introduced into bacteria such as E.coli to persuade them to overproduce certain proteins. It is a well-understood technology that was first developed in the 1970s. Overproduction, however, is typically triggered by « inducer » molecules, which can be costly, and often need careful handling, such as refrigeration.
