Sunday, June 07, 2015

Remote-controlled genes trigger insulin production : Nature News & Comment

Remote-controlled genes trigger insulin production : Nature News & Comment: "Friedman and his colleagues coated iron oxide nanoparticles with antibodies that bind to a modified version of the temperature-sensitive ion channel TRPV1, which sits on the surface of cells. They injected these particles into tumours grown under the skins of mice, then used the magnetic field generated by a device similar to a miniature magnetic-resonance-imaging machine to heat the nanoparticles with low-frequency radio waves. In turn, the nanoparticles heated the ion channel to its activation temperature of 42 °C. Opening the channel allowed calcium to flow into cells, triggering secondary signals that switched on an engineered calcium-sensitive gene that produces insulin."


Activate your genes with radio waves (Wired UK)

Activate your genes with radio waves (Wired UK): "Sarah Stanley, a research associate at New York's Rockefeller University, was able to trigger a synthetic gene to produce insulin inside a mouse by shooting radio waves at it from a distance of 1cm. Stanley says that the method could be used to treat humans with rare protein deficiencies such as Tay-Sachs disease. "This would be an alternative way to make proteins in the right place, at the right time," she says. 

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