Tobacco is the fruit fly of plant research, he says. Which means it could be the wonder plant of the future. Scientists have already discovered that a single tobacco plant can produce more insulin or vaccine than a 125 gallon-fermentation tank. Daniell is working on it. One of his projects is growing insulin in tobacco.
Plants can do anything animals or bacteria can do.
The cost of obtaining, storing and administering insulin from animals makes it unattainable for many people, especially in developing countries where it's needed most. In some countries children die because vaccinations are not available. Medicines cultivated in tobacco could be mass produced and their costs could be cut a thousand times, Daniell estimates. And that's only the beginning of tobacco's potential. Daniell and D.W. Urry, his collaborator at Bioelastics Research Ltd., have used it to create a protein-based, biodegradable plastic.