More than 1.5 million Americans are allergic to peanuts; 50 people a year die after eating one or more of them. And now scientists at the University of Georgia have done something about it.
The researchers used a “gene gun” to inject peanut-plant sprouts with RNA that interferes with the production of the two proteins that are responsible for the most dangerous peanut allergies. The plants developed normally and produced delicious, hypoallergenic peanuts. And while scientists still can’t tell us why peanut allergies have become more common in the past few decades, new studies suggest feeding your kids peanuts at an early age can reduce their risk of developing allergies later in life.
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