 So, how can tobacco help treat Ebola? Let's find out on the big idea. The most recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa killed more than 11,000 people and caught the whole world off guard with its ferocity. Ebola, a hemorrhagic fever, is spread through contact with an infected person. The virus attacks cells using specialized protein spikes to invade tissue systems throughout the body. In fatal cases, Ebola overwhelms the patient's immune response so they can't make enough antibodies to fight off the disease in time. Researchers realized if they could blunt the spikes, it would make the virus less effective in spreading throughout the body. The patient could then have a fighting chance against the virus. So they designed custom antibodies that could be manufactured without using the human immune system. But they needed a quick way to manufacture the experimental drug. Enter Charlie Arnson at ASU's Biodesign Institute. He designs unique proteins and uses plants to manufacture them. His goal is to find new drugs faster and at a lower cost, especially for newly emerging diseases like Ebola. Arnson figured out how to hijack a tobacco virus and alter the genes inside so that it carried the customized antibodies against Ebola. Rather than spending months producing a genetically engineered tobacco plant, we can get a virus re-engineered, cause it to produce a protein we want in 10 to 12 days. Why tobacco? Because it's one of the most valuable crops in human history. Therefore, its virology has been carefully documented. It grows rapidly and has a host of viruses that can be used to infect it. The customized virus takes over the tobacco plant and while it kills it, it effectively manufactures the drug inside the plant's cells. Once processed, this becomes the experimental drug known as ZMAP. ZMAP was used in the past year to treat several health workers and is thought to have contributed to their survival. But further human testing is needed to validate this idea. After all the people tobacco has killed over the years, it's only fitting that it may now save lives. Clinical trials are underway and more research will undoubtedly follow. But one day soon, this idea might help treat Ebola. For The Big Idea, I'm Tyler Eglin.