This is a transistor. Only not the way it is usually portrayed. Instead of working as a switch to control the flow of electrons, this device controls the flow of living cells.
A group of researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill developed a device that, instead of electrons, controls the movement (direction) of cells. Scientists have figured out how, instead of controlling the direction of electrons from one chain to another, one can precisely control the movement of cells and bend around microfluidic channels, controlling their movement by variation of the applied voltage.
The device at first glance is very simple. However, by creating a really high-quality transistor for cells, scientists will open up a world of amazing possibilities, where you can send a lot of cells along certain routes in the same direction and deliver, for example, the necessary medicines.
“Similar to the billions of transistors that are used to direct the flow of information in computer systems, our task is to develop ways to control the flow of certain cells in microfluidic systems, though on a smaller scale,” says Benjamin Yellen, one of the researchers of this project.
Scientists have definitely become one step closer to their goal. In the future, a team of researchers is going to use this technique to monitor certain cells in order to better understand the causes and methods of treating diseases such as HIV and cancer.
The article is based on materials .
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