Children with the disease have a genetic mutation that causes them to produce the protein progerin, which blocks normal cell function.
Scientists at Biogen, who had been studying T cell function, took note.
However, tinkering with T-cell function is only a small part of what is being done to overcome the body's often-cursed refusal to be medicated.
She said they were currently funding research into drugs that mimic the action of nerve growth factor (NGF), the name given to the gene therapy involving stimulating cell function.
Advocates argue that in order to truly understand how basic biological processes work, they'll need to compare and contrast how different stem cell lines function.
BBC: Embryonic stem cells can be turned into any kind of cell
Cell phones function much like debit cards in that they use a data chip (in this case, a SIM card) to store balances and enable withdrawals.
The SIM card ( Subscriber Identity Module) in cell phones provide the same function.
According to Dr Rattan, such interventions improve the function of a cell over time, and in doing so, may produce clinical benefits such as protection against neurodegenerative diseases.
The only thing these geeks discovered is the function of how modern cell phones work.
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While it is likely that getting such a computer to function inside a living cell remains some way off, the remarkably rapid progress of biological computers in controlled lab conditions means that that distant day looks to be getting closer.
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The small study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association, is the first to look specifically at how electromagnetic radiation from cell phones affects glucose metabolism, a normal function, in the brain.
Chemo-radiotherapy specifically degrades muscle mass, and depresses the function of mitochondria, the tiny structures that act as the boiler room of the cell, generating energy.
But today, whenever there is an unanticipated short silence -- cell service goes temporarily dead, e-mail or text messaging or social networks cease to function because of an electronic burp somewhere -- it gives us the occasion to reflect upon how quickly we have gotten used to the new way, with our messages coming in and going out continually and seamlessly, day and night.
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