A group of scientists from University of California and Taipei Institute of Biomedical Sciencesin Taiwan, developed cyborg cellswith a very promising future. This is not the first time that synthetic cells have been developed. However, there are such halfway between living and artificialso that they combine the best qualities of both states.
At the moment, they were only looking for a way to synthesize these cyborg cells. However, as explained in a study published in the journal advanced science, in the future they hope to find them in a wide variety of applications. They may vary from targeted drug delivery before cleaning from contaminants.
And that’s what synthetic biology it is a very new science that is just beginning to develop. However, when it does, it will have many applications to help improve our lives from different areas. This includes any kind synthetic life formbut also to these new cyborg cells.
The purpose of the cyborg cells
biotechnology It is a branch of science that deals with the use of living organisms to develop applications useful to humans. This is very useful in many areas. However, it should be noted that complex living organisms, like simple cells, sometimes difficult to control.
This slight limitation led to the development of synthetic biology. With it, living cells can be modified to turn them into something more manageable or directly. build them from the very beginning. Thus, cells with most of its functions have been retained, but with very useful additional features. For example, cannot be playedso they are easier to manage. Same, programmableso that its way of working can be changed according to specific needs.
cyborg cells They combine the best of both worlds. They are not created from scratch, but they are not genetic modifications of cells either. In their case, these scientists used bacteria as the basis for his invention. Then they added to these bacterial cells artificial polymerwho later underwent ultraviolet radiation. Thus, the polymer has been modified to provide an artificial matrix, similar to the extracellular matrix, which is usually part of the tissue. That is why its own authors call this invention cyborg cells. Based on normal cells, but added synthetic elements which make them more resilient.
What are they for?
As is often the case with any other cyborg, these cells retain their normal characteristics, but they also have some unusual qualities. For example, they are much more resilient to stressors such as high pH or impact antibiotics.
In terms of the characteristics they retain, it has been proven that they can still synthesize proteins, move, maintain their normal metabolic responses, and follow genetic blueprints. This means that they can survive normally, but in more extreme conditions and furthermore, they continue to have genetic instructions that can be save or change, depending on what its function will be. For example, they can take advantage of the fact that they retain their mobility, but modify it. target the tumor and once inside, destroy it. Or deliver drugs directly to the cells that need them.
All this must be studied. In fact, these scientists admit that although they have complied with the requirement not to reproduce, it is not very clear to them how they did it. As stated in Scientific Alertit is possible that the artificial matrix stop cell division by inhibiting cell growth or DNA replication, or both. They will have to study this and also continue to analyze possible applications.
For now, at least, they know that creating cyborg cells is possible. The future of science is great.
Source: Hiper Textual
