Pharmaceuticals from Crab Shells

Fungi with additional foreign genes have been created at the Vienna University of Technology. They can now turn chitin into pharmaceuticals. Usually, mould fungi are nothing to cheer about - but now they can be used as "chemical factories". Scientists at the Vienna University of Technology have succeeded in introducing bacterial genes into the fungus Trichoderma, so that the fungus can now produce important chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry. The raw material used by the fungus is abundant - it is chitin, which makes up the shells of crustaceans. Fifty Times More Expensive than Gold - Viral Infections are usually treated with antiviral drugs, which are often derived from N-Acetylneuraminic acid (or NANA, for short). NANA, which can be obtained form natural sources or synthesized, is fifty times more valuable than gold - it is sold for around 2000 Euros per gram.