Un gruppo di scienziati del MIT di Boston ha pubblicato venerdì sulla rivista "Science" uno studio che dimostra come sia possibile "hackerare" e riprogrammare le cellule per combattere il cancro.
Secondo gli esperti si può riscrivere il codice genetico e inserirlo nei batteri per modificarne il funzionamento, ma ora all'esame c'è una via per "riprogrammare" le cellule in modo da indurle a rilasciare farmaci antitumorali quando incontrano il tumore.
Il meccanismo è simile a quello impiegato nella riprogrammazione di un software per computer — operazione detta appunto "hacking" — e gli scienziati sono riusciti, con questa tecnica, a codificare nuove funzioni per le cellule usando un linguaggio di programmazione basato su un testo che viene trasferito al DNA della cellula "e a quel punto questo circuito funziona all'interno della stessa", ha detto Christopher Voigt, docente di ingegneria biologica al MIT.
ATS/px
Per saperne di più: l'articolo originale sulla rivista "Science"
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