Biological Pacemaker
Quote:
By injecting a gene into a pig’s heart, scientists have created a “biological pacemaker” that can regulate heartbeats, an achievement that eventually may lead to an alternative to electronic pacemakers in some people.
The technique may also prove to be a promising example of gene therapy, which so far has shown glimmers of success in just a few other conditions.
Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles reported Wednesday that they had injected a gene into a tiny section of pigs’ hearts and were able to temporarily reprogram ordinary heart cells into rhythm-generating cells. Human trials of the technique are at least three years away, and if successful, the approach would be, at least at first, limited to a small subset of pacemaker users.
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(More information at the link)
This is pretty cool, if they can make it work long term.
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