Using genetically engineered baker’s yeast, researchers have come up with a shortcut to making artemisinin, a frontline drug against malaria. Christopher Paddon of Amyris Inc. of Emeryville, Calif., and his colleagues describe their process April 10 in Nature.
Last year the team reported that they could ferment the bioengineered yeast to make amorphadiene, a precursor of artemisinic acid.
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