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by Becky Ferreira
July 31,
2023
from
Vice Website
Image: da-kuk via Get
Breakthrough research
represents "the
missing link
that will enable
wearables
to control genes
in the
not-so-distant
future,"
researchers say.
Scientists have demonstrated that human genes can be controlled with
electricity, a breakthrough that could pave the way toward wearable
devices that program genes to perform medical interventions, reports
a new study.
In a novel experiment, researchers were able to trigger insulin
production in human cells by sending electrical currents through an
"electrogenetic" interface that activates targeted genes.
Future applications of
this interface could be developed to deliver therapeutic doses to
treat a wide range of conditions, including diabetes, by directly
controlling human DNA with electricity.
There is currently an explosion of interest in medical
wearables, which are,
health-centric
portable technologies such as fitness trackers, biosensors,
blood pressure monitors, and portable electrocardiogram devices.
Smart wearables
have become an essential tool for many doctors and patients,
spurring researchers to continue developing novel platforms for
collecting medical data or even performing medical interventions.
Now, scientists led by Jinbo Huang, a molecular biologist at
ETH Zürich, have invented a battery-powered interface that they
call,
"the direct current
(DC)-actuated regulation technology," or DART,
...that can trigger
specific gene responses with an electric current.
Huang and his colleagues
described the device as,
"a leap forward,
representing the missing link that will enable wearables to
control genes in the not-so-distant future," according to a
study (An
Electrogenetic Interface to program Mammalian Gene expression by
Direct Current) published on Monday in Nature.
"Electronic and
biological systems function in radically different ways and are
largely incompatible due to the lack of a functional
communication interface," the team said in the study.
"While biological
systems are analog, programmed by genetics, updated slowly by
evolution and controlled by ions flowing through insulated
membranes, electronic systems are digital, programmed by readily
updatable software and controlled by electrons flowing through
insulated wires."
"Electrogenetic interfaces that would enable electronic devices
to control gene expression remain the missing link in the path
to full compatibility and interoperability of the electronic and
genetic worlds," the researchers added.
With that in mind, the
team aimed to forge a direct connection between our "analog" DNA,
which is the biological alphabet that governs the life-cycles of all
organisms on Earth, and the electronic systems that form the basis
of digital technologies.
The same group at ETH Zürich had originally demonstrated that genes
could be electrically activated as part of a study that
was published in 2020.
This new modified design
simplifies the initial design by implanting human pancreatic cells
into mice with type 1 diabetes.
The researchers then used
electrically-stimulating acupuncture needles to switch on the exact
genes involved in regulating doses of insulin, a hormone that is
essential for the treatment of diabetes.
As a consequence, the
blood glucose concentrations of the model mice returned to normal
levels.
Huang and his colleagues said this electrical fine-tuning of
mammalian gene expression sets the stage for,
"wearable-based
electro-controlled gene expression with the potential to connect
medical interventions to an internet of the body or the internet
of things," according to the study.
"While we chose
DART-controlled insulin production for proof-of-concept
validation, it should be straightforward to link DART control to
the in situ production and dosing of a wide range of
biopharmaceuticals," the team concluded.
"We believe simple
electrogenetic interfaces such as DART that functionally
interconnect analog biological systems with digital electronic
devices hold great promise for a variety of future gene- and
cell-based therapies."
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