Scientists at the University of Washington in St. Louis have demonstrated the ability to control living cells with light. As the same scientists say, this discovery will be the first step towards controlling the release of insulin and even heart rate.
Professor of Neurology, Dr. N Gautam explained that the light in this case acts as a kind of switch for the cells:
In most cases, the behavior of cells is a direct result of the ability to receive signals from their environment. New experiments have shown that cells can receive light signals.
The ability to control cells appeared when scientists added a photosensitive protein to an immune cell. When it was added, the cell began to respond to the action of laser light and thereby made it possible to choose the direction of motion necessary for scientists for it.
Dr. Gautam and a team of researchers set themselves the goal of finding a way to manually activate cell receptors.
It is likely that one day we will be able to manually direct immune cells to problem areas, such as bacterial infections and various inflammations.
For their research, scientists used the principles of genetic engineering, which allowed the photosensitive protein opsin, which is usually found in the retina of humans and animals, to be added to the cell. In the future, a team of scientists plans to expand the capabilities of this technology and find a way to use other proteins that respond to different types of light wavelengths, and thereby increase the ability of the cell to control itself.
Gautam explains that technology has tremendous potential:
We will be able to control the migration not only of the cells of the immune system, but even during embryonic development, which will allow us to make sure that the heart, liver and other organs as a result will form exactly where they belong. This finding may also be the key to the spread of cancer metastases. We are very pleased with the opportunities that have opened before us.
The first significant step towards creating the perfect person?
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