It used a flashlight-like device to activate photo cells on the television set to change channels.

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Today, dozens of researchers and millions of dollars in funding support a mission to locate, activate and kill cells infected by dormant virus without harming patients.

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"This is a custom made vaccine from the patient's own tumor cells which is designed to activate the patient's own defenses to fight the tumor where it had not done that before, " said NCI's Dr. Larry Kwak.

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The hope is this will activate a molecular self-destruct program contained within all cells.

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They plan to activate a gene in the mouse that will selectively eliminate senescent cells.

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If hepatocytes and their genomes become disarrayed by disease, Willenbring says, it may activate oncogenes in the same way their experiment did, causing the cells to change identity and form cancers.

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