Glowing cells - a new direction in cancer treatment

Something that looks like a kaleidoscope of glowing sugar cotton beads or an interference between a nebula and a 1980s dance party is actually a more amazing thing : A look Detailed and accurate on the exact location of living cells (DNA) and molecules (RNA) in a living cell .

According to a new study, the method of opening the door to this unprecedented look inside living cells - called DNA microscopes - has been completed over a period of six years. 'DNA microscopy is an entirely new way to visualize cells, capture both spatial and genetic information from a specimen , ' said Joshua Weinstein, postdoctoral researcher at the Institute. Broad rescue of MIT University (USA) said.

Live cells and molecules of cells are simulated when glowing.

This technique even allows researchers to see the exact order of nucleotides, 'letters' that make up the double helix of DNA and single strands of RNA in each cell.

Weinstein said: 'It allows us to see how cells are genetically unique, such as cells that make up the immune system, cancer or intestines - interact with each other and arise. Complex multicellular life '.

Over the past few decades, researchers have developed countless tools to help them collect molecular data from tissue samples. But efforts to combine this technology with data - let researchers know where and how genetic material is arranged inside a cell - often involves expensive and specialized machinery. .

The new approach makes this process much easier, the researchers said. In essence, this method uses small tags - made up of custom DNA sequences, each about 30 nucleotides long - clinging to every DNA and RNA molecule in a cell. Then the cards are copied until there are hundreds of copies of them in the cell. When these copies interact with each other, they combine and create unique DNA labels, the researchers said.

The researchers said the determination of the position of each molecule is similar to the way cell phone towers triangulate mobile phone locations nearby.

This technique can help researchers better understand the different types of diseases in humans. For example, in research, researchers have shown that DNA microscopy can map the location of human cancer cells in a sample. These synthetic DNA tags can even help scientists map the location of antibodies, receptors and molecules on tumor cells, they said.

"We used DNA in a mathematically similar way with photons in light microscopes ," Weinstein said. 'This allows us to visualize biology as the way cells see it and not from the perspective of the human eye'.

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