Although it's associated with nasty cigarettes, the tobacco plant is also a potential source of vaccines, biofuel and antibiotics. Now, a chemical from the plant is also being used as a bug repellent for crops, which could replace eco-unfriendly insecticides.
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The world is in desperate need of new antibiotics, as bacteria continue to evolve and develop resistance to the ones we have. Now, researchers at La Trobe University have found a peptide in the flower of a tobacco plant that could be the first of a new kind of antibiotic.
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A new study has found that third-hand smoke – chemical residue from cigarette smoke – can spread more pervasively than previously thought, even moving throughout a seemingly “smoke-free” building. But despite this compelling research the dangers to human health still remain unclear.
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A major study examining ways of stemming the rising rates of non-communicable diseases worldwide has concluded that taxes on unhealthy products, such as sugary soft drinks and tobacco, would produce major health gains for the poor.
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Offering hopes of complete eradication of polio, a team of scientists in the UK has created a synthetic polio vaccine that contains non-infectious virus particles that can be grown quickly and cheaply in a close relative of the tobacco plant.
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A new study has found the vapor from electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, can cause as much DNA damage as smoke from tobacco cigarettes. The results surprised researchers, who concluded that e-cigarettes are "potentially as harmful as tobacco cigarettes."
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Scientists at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia have discovered a gene in an ancient Australian native tobacco plant that they say is the key to growing crops in space.
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The Emperador cigar chest from Imperiali Genève is a high-tech container that holds two dozen bespoke cigars and clocks in at a cool one million Swiss francs (US$1,048,000) – making this both one of the most expensive and technologically advanced cigar boxes in history.
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Researchers have uncovered an enzyme found in nature they say could greatly improve on the effectiveness of smoking cessation aids by devouring nicotine in smokers before it can deliver its "reward" to the brain.
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A metallic nanocoating derived from a virus of the tobacco plant could lead to more efficient steam production, improving the performance of steam turbines, air conditioning and electronics cooling systems.
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