A study carried out by Boston University has discovered a method to make cells execute specific instructions, just as happens in computers
What if human cells could receive and execute logical instructions just as happens in computers? No, it’s not science fiction but a study from Boston University. Scientists in the United States have found a way to communicate and make the cells of various mammals, including humans, carry out instructions.
This is not the first team of researchers to be able to interact with cells or parts of the human body in a similar way to how it is done with computers. In the past, this method was used to fight some E. coli infections. Now, however, with the new discovery, cells will be able to carry out as many as 109 different instructions. Following specific instructions and responding to particular environmental conditions. To succeed where other research teams had failed, scientists at Boston University used recombinase, an enzyme that can coordinate a genetic recombination, or an exchange of DNA regions from distinct and separate segments of DNA.
How it works and what uses it will have
This technique will be used in the future especially for treatment and diagnosis in the medical field. Thanks to this technique, which detects certain proteins typical of a certain disease, it will be much faster to understand which pathology the patient has. Other potential applications include the manipulation of T lymphocytes with the aim of killing tumors, using proteins that can detect two or three biomarkers of cancer cells. The technique also could be used to transform stem cells into other cells at will. Tissue reconstruction would also be possible with this method. It will take some time before we see this study at work, but it is certainly a sensational discovery that could overturn many current medical concepts.