“Lasers started from physics and are viewed as engineering devices,” says Seok-Hyun Yun, an optical physicist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who created the ‘living laser’ with his colleague Malte Gather. “This is the first time that we have used biological materials to build a laser and generate light from something that is living.” The finding is reported today in Nature Photonics.
“The same printer technology that sits on your desk could soon be a common fixture in rebuilding human tissue, treating burns by laying down layers of a patients’ own skin or even rebuilding whole organs.”
I’ve seen this method performed in labs in synthetic tissue growth for humans. Its fascinating that we’re code that can be written in a computer, and now we can be literally printed out of a printer.
Using molecular imprinting—a process akin to leaving a footprint in wet cement—the researchers created melittin-shaped craters in tiny plastic dots. When injected into mice after a lethal dose of melittin, the plastic antibodies diminished melittin’s toxic effects and enhanced survival. “These results establish for thefirst time that a simple, nonbiological synthetic nanoparticle with antibody-like affinity and selectivity (that is, a plastic antibody) can effectively function in the bloodstream of living animals,” the researchers wrote in their report published online April 26 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
“This opens the door to serious consideration for these nanoparticles in all applications where antibodies are used,” Shea said in a prepared statement, suggesting the technique could be used to generate plastic antibodies tailored to fight any number of troublesome antigens.
This is HUGE news. With the development of the self-replicating Mycoplasma Mycoides from JCVI, and now this news that we can introduce synthetic nanoparticles into a natural biological environment, lets all stop and recognize the vast wonders and achievements that we have seen and will see in this Biotech Revolution.
I am still in awe at this achievement. I posted a similar article about this a few days ago, but I’m compelled to present another source on the topic. Life has been synthesized. I cannot wait to see all of the miraculous happenings in science and medicine that will materialize thanks to this biotechnological harbinger.
I’ve been a big fan of the JCVI for a while now, and I’ve likened the recent news of their successful development of the self-replicating Mycoplasma Mycoides organism to the Moon landing.
See this link for details on Mycoplasma Mycoides: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/05/scientists-create-first-self-replicating-synthetic-life/
I’m so grateful to be living in a time when we can witness the birth of such an innovative and prosperous field of Science. Furthermore, I’m relieved that we happen to have a President who supports and recognizes some of the benefits of this research- rather than banning it and eliminating funding.
I’m moved beyond words with gratitude that I as one of only 7 billion people on the planet can witness such a monumental instance of consciousness raising.
We humans should be proud that we’re the first species to actually be able to begin to understand the meaning and mechanics of life.
