Scientists have created a DNA robot that is programmable to kill diseased cells. This robot is able to detect the diseased area, as programmed, and once the bad cells are detected the robot releases the antibodies or “payload” to kill or reconfigure the diseased cells.
Advancements like these can put predisposition testers more at ease with their results.
This DNA robot is configured like a clam shell in that it holds the “payload” inside until it has detected the unwanted cells, which it then opens to release the disease fighters. This design is made by folding over many strands of DNA. DNA strands have “sticky” ends that when stuck to other ends of different DNA creates a zipper. When both “sticky” ends, or zipper, meets its programmed destination the clam shell design opens to release what then kills the mutated cells. The robot has tested successful against leukemia and lymphoma cells in a laboratory dish where the bad cells self-destructed after the “payload” was delivered.
The next step for these scientists is to test them on animals. Mice are planned to be used in order to insure that these robots can withstand being in the blood stream for long amounts of time.
Today’s therapies fall short in killing only bad cells and eliminating the entire amount of diseased cells most of the time. This method would recognize only the bad cells and kill them and not stop until they were all found. This in turn could mean for a cure in the disease. Very exciting news considering the horror this disease creates everyday for millions of people.
Another reason this method would be superior to current drug delivery systems would be the ability to deliver the antibodies based on a timed delivery to ensure a beneficial disease state. This means that throughout the life cycle of a disease there are more opportune times than others to attack the abnormal cells. This robot can be programmed to attack at specific states, making for a more effective strike on the disease.





