Biotechnology

"Tobacco plants growing in a hospital laboratory in London, genetically modified to include an algae gene, are said to provide an effective anti-HIV drug" (http://spicycauldron.com/2007/04/30/the-gm-tobacco-that-could-save-lives/).

With new technologies progressing rapidly, it's no surprise that something previously known to kill so many has been mutated into a tool to help people with HIV. By a gene placed into the DNA of the plant, a protein is created, even though the plant has no use for it specifically.

Now, currently, it seems as though this sort of plant is only being produced in a very few areas because the creation is still relatively new (the oldest news article I've found has been dated for 2005). There is no large-scale production line of these tobacco plants, as far as I know, but there are farms around the world, such as in Kent, but the project has not yet been perfected. There are huge plans in the future, however: "Once successful, each plant will be capable of providing 20 doses of an anti-HIV drug, which is enough to protect a woman from infection for up to three months" (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/gm-tobacco-production-in-kent-could-provide-anti-hiv-drug-to-millions/).

It's easy to point out the positive effects this new method for cheap medicine will have, but there are also disadvantages. Such as with all GM plants, there is a chance that they could "infect," so to speak, the natural population of the plants, and cause them to be extinct. Also, more specifically to this crop, some may use the new medicine expecting 100% results 100% of the time, and this may not be true, causing HIV to continue to spread regardless.