(Image credit Ohio State University)
Well, maybe not as fast as Wolverine, but it does start working to repair damaged tissue within less of a second after activation. Developed by researchers from Ohio State University, the new technology is known as TNT (Tissue Nano-transfection) is able to generate any cell type within a patient’s own body to repair damaged tissue or even restore the function of aging organs, blood vessels, and nerve cells.
The researchers have found that the skin acts as ‘fertile land’ where they can grow the elements of any organ that are in decline. To demonstrate this principle, they were able to restore the damaged legs of mice and pigs that lacked blood flow by using the nano technology to ‘reprogram’ skin cells, turning them into newly formed blood vessels.
In only two weeks’ time, the legs were healed and functional again. Lab tests also showed they were successful at reprogramming skin cells into nerve cells, which were then inject into mice with brain damage, restoring functionality two weeks after suffering strokes.
“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,” stated Dr. Chanden Sen who helped to develop the new technology.
(Image credit Ohio State University)
The TNT chip was designed using two components with the first comprising the nano-based chip, which delivers ‘cargo’ to adult cells within the body. That cargo is the second component and is comprised of the reprogramming agent used to convert cells from one type to another. That’s the scientific explanation; the non-scientific version goes like this- a small silicon chip is used to inject your own genetic code (taken from skin cells and reprogrammed) into the damaged cells, which then begin to regrow.
Genetic code has often been used to grow many different cells in the lab or directly on the skin, only in this case You are the lab, making it impossible for your body to reject a newly grown organ than receiving a new one from a donor. Better yet, TNT is non-invasive, can be done anywhere and has a long shelf life, perfect for those that need immediate emergency help like those in car crashes or soldiers on the field of war.
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