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How flossing a mouse’s teeth could lead to a new kind of vaccine

Tests of a needle-free flu vaccine delivered through the gums required some creative thinking 

A researcher wearing purple nitrile gloves flosses the lower incisors of a mouse. A second researcher, also wearing purple gloves, holds the mouse by the scruff of its neck. The mouse's head is also looped through a metal key ring, with part of the ring supporting its lower jaw.

A pair of researchers gently floss a mouse’s bottom incisors, delivering a vaccine that could help protect the animal against influenza.

Paul Stonum

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

Bioengineer Rohan Ingrole needed to floss a mouse’s teeth.