Biological 'Logic Circuit' Destroys Cancer Cells 98
intellitech writes "Researchers led by ETH professor Yaakov Benenson and MIT professor Ron Weiss have successfully incorporated diagnostic biological information processing in human cells. In a study recently published in Science (abstract), they describe a multi-gene synthetic 'logic circuit' whose task is to distinguish between cancer and healthy cells, and subsequently target cancer cells for destruction. This circuit works by sampling and integrating five intracellular, cancer-specific molecular factors and their concentration. The circuit makes a positive identification only when all factors are present in the cell, resulting in highly precise cancer detection. Researchers hope it can serve a basis for very specific anti-cancer treatments."
Destroying cancer cells is bad. (Score:0, Interesting)
A cell only reverts to a cancer cell as a methof of self-preservation. This only happens when something else inhibits it's ability to get oxygen. Somone confirm this, because cancer is a cellular MODE that switches off when the cellular matrix recovers. An acid substrate causes this, and localized contact with a HEAVY METAL is proved why cancer clumps into what is known as a tumor. Get rid of that havy metal, and raise the substrate PH, and the cells revert back to aerobic energy chain mode.
SCIENTISTS are doing it wrong. If you kill cancer in any way other than gene therapy then you remove viable tissue from the body that is needed: killing cancer leaves a pit on the skin. http://cancerisfungus.com/ [cancerisfungus.com] will show you how a surgeon suggested Grocery store -available ingredients to force cells to absorb a PH increase to knock them back into normal aerobic mode: Sodium Bicarbonate (without aluminum) and maple syrup warmed in a saucepan for 5 minutes and drank with :8oz distilled water will do it.
theoretical immortality (Score:3, Interesting)
I have wondered to myself a few times if it would be possible to reprogram an intracellular parasite to become a new "immortality" organelle.
Take for instance, the work with toxoplasma gondii. This is already an intracellular parasite, which has been fully sequenced and even fully reprogrammed in the lab.
we suspect that much of 'old age' is the genetic breakdown of chromosomes from cellular mitosis, which causes a limit to the number of times a healthy cell culture can divide, and further impact the functional health of tissues made from such aged cellular populations.
Incorporating a failsafe backup of the chromosomes of the host, detecting cancer factors, and selectively disabling some the tumor suppression genes in the host that restrict tissue regeneration would radically increase the lifespan of the host.
The idea I had in mind was for the endoparasite to contain a normal bacterial genome capsid, for the organism's own cellular activites, and for the cancer detection and apoptosis trigger of the host--- but also to contain a fully synthetic non-replicating copy of the host's genome. (Perhaps it could be phosphorilated or in some other manner rendered bioologically inactive in the parasite.)
The idea is that as the telomeres of the host's genome break down, it triggers the biological equivalent of running fsck on the host genome, then rebuilds the host telomeres- essentially restarting the cell division clock, and rejuvenating the host tissue.
The problem I haven't come up with a suitable answer for, is how to cope if the organisms end up in the WRONG host.
We don't want aunt mae turning into uncle ben on the genetic level after they shag, for instance.
The organisms need a way to update the template, withou updating to a BROKEN template in the host.
I am not a genetic engineer, so I haven't thout too deeply on the matter, but I could deffinately see something like this turning somebody essentially immortal.