Chip Reprograms Skin into Any Cell Type

[Researchers] have developed a portable, thumbnail-sized silicon chip that can, in a fraction of a second, reprogram skin cells so that they transform into just about any other cell type in the body. The noninvasive tissue nanotransfection (TNT) technology has already been used in mice and pigs to prompt skin cells to develop into complete blood vessels that join up with existing vasculature to heal necrotizing skin flaps and to rescue critically injured ischemic legs. In subsequent experiments, TNT directed the transformation of mouse epidermal skin cells into functioning neurons that within just a few weeks could be removed from the skin layer and transplanted into the animals’ brains to reverse the effects of a stroke.

Genetic Engineering News (genengnews.com), Aug. 7, 2017 - Chip Reprograms Skin into Any Cell Type.

- and -

sciencedaily.com, Aug. 7, 2017 - Breakthrough device heals organs with a single touch.

This is near as crazy news as I can find! Using a chip that they place on your skin's surface, they can shoot material to reprogram your epidermal cell into another type of body cell! All you feel is an electric current. All the chip needs is a small electric current. The epidermal cell recodes and you can transfer it to where it is going to be used.

Since it is your own body, it will not be rejected and you do not need immune suppressors!

This is difficult to imagine, but it is achievable, successfully working about 98 percent of the time. With this technology, we can convert skin cells into elements of any organ with just one touch. This process only takes less than a second and is non-invasive, and then you're off. The chip does not stay with you, and the reprogramming of the cell starts. Our technology keeps the cells in the body under immune surveillance, so immune suppression is not necessary," said Sen, who also is executive director of Ohio State's Comprehensive Wound Center.

ScienceDaily article

.

They are still working on it but already a 98% success rate! Wow! The implications are profound.

I hope this is not kept out of reach of people who need it! I hope this is scalable. Crazy is all I can come up with at the moment!

Alternatively, a patient’s skin can be considered as an ‘agricultural landscape’ for growing and harvesting therapeutic cell types for implantation elsewhere in the body. We have, for example, generated hundreds of thousands of neurons in the skin of mice. It takes just 3-4 weeks for functional neurons to be ready for grafting into the brain.”

genengnews article.

That is insane!

They can just leave it as a cell farm in your skin!

That is indeed very interesting. Would love to see how it works mechanistically. For instance, what chemicals/conditions were used to create neurons as opposed to the vascular tissue? Were the cells created as efficient and as hearty as cells derived from say, stem cells? If this turns out to be a workable model for humans, then it is possibly a tremendous breakthrough.

Can it be used to grow existing tissue making it larger
Oh yes, you know exactly where I am going with this

a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

Both articles only used the term "cargo" (genetic material). This is still small scale. The electric delivery of "cargo" does not destroy the cell wall like previous methods.

They want to make a 3D version. And someday combine it with CRISPER abilities. They said that they already are looking at chip manufacturers for supply. They want this out there in the real world being used. So kudos for that!

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Yeah, hair growth!



They mentioned it might get hair growing again. This is still surface level applications. They want to study how it works with the dermis layer. Where, ahem, hair follicles reside!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Please Please Please hair growth


pleeeeeeaaaase!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

If they have chips/cpu that can directly interface with our genetic material and change it to suit demands, taken to the logical conclusion, they have the cure for just about every disease affliction and ailment known to Man.

Including possibly mortality itself.

Never mind the possible applications regarding other fields of study that bridge the gap between Man and machine, technology such as this is seems to bring us one step closer towards the singularity.

That's if it does what it says on the tin.

Cool thread!

Here's a scary part:

“We are quite surprised that the transfection is able to propagate into the deeper layers of skin tissue cells,” Dr. Lee admitted to GEN. “Our current results show that the transfected surface cells are able to release functional biomolecules, including mRNA and proteins, some in secreted extracellular vesicles, to relay the transfection to other cells in the tissue.”

They were surprised that the transfection spread into the tissue on its own. Now that they know how to start it, they need to work on stopping it.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
Can it be used to grow existing tissue making it larger

Oh yes, you know exactly where I am going with this

Brain enhancement? You just need plenty of sleep, exercise and good nutrition. When you put on weight, fat cells expand *everywhere* including inside your brain.

a reply to: bluesjr

very good point. if they can not control the transmission vector, it simply is to risky.

I would be content at being transformed into a Genius......... with wings........ that could breathe underwater...

a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

No problem at all. Just remove a skin graft, which will continue to grow in the right conditions, and apply the chip. Let it affect the entire sample. No need to separate it then.

If a damaged body can be kept in stasis long enough to grow the corrective tissue, this could be the answer to longer life. I wont say immortality, but I can see cleaning up on long term investments... :-)

Ok lets talk about weaponization. If it can change things to any type of cell it can also make cancerous or deadly cells too.

Cure for cancer

a reply to: zardust

Possibly the cure for cell apoptosis never mind manipulation on the genetic level for all sort of other purpose if taken to its logical conclusion.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Wow,

Thats cool as hell. Its kind of nice to know we will one day be able to heal almost anything. Keep the Einsteins alive for a while.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
Can it be used to grow existing tissue making it larger

Oh yes, you know exactly where I am going with this

Thinking like that is what gets us giant monsters.

a reply to: tadaman

Tech such as this is never going to be made available for mainstream medical use through at least not as long as we are a one planet species with the population problems we have and other socioeconomic issues to contend with else it would possibly create more problems than it could realistically solve.

can we call it stem cell chip

a reply to: bluesjr
a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

And possibly the best part! Imagine being able to drill down genetic anti-cancer drugs sub-dermis. Targeted delivery. You can fight cancer from both the top down and bottom up.

Maybe like a hypo spray from Star Trek! I wonder how much of our tech is derived from people watching that show?

a reply to: yuppa

Yeah, there is always that.

No need to VX your step-brother at the airport just have one of the ticket agents brush against his hand. Delivered. A month later, "Condolences on your loss..."

a reply to: zardust

See the flip side with yuppa's post above!



Weaponized, should have thought of that one!

Singularity? I don't think this involves AI.

Longevity? Possible hundreds of years?? Even, *whispers*, immortality. There are several issues with society that would really benefit from looking at the issues over the long term. Utopia is not a short term goal because if you do not address social issues you end up causing problems like Calhoun showed with his Universe 25 study.

Where long term repair might really benefit mankind is space exploration! Even if it is just a rocket pushing a craft, long term space travel become possible. Speed that up with an ion thruster, plasma thruster, or nuclear fusion pulsed plasma, then you are really talking. A 30 year trip to Alpha Centari with actual humans who upon their return would still know living people with Einstein relativistic effects involved--that would be cool!!