How you can control lab-grown heart cells with a remote control light

Mouse heart cells grown on graphene beat at a rate controlled by light stimulation. [Image courtesy of UC San Diego]

University of California San Diego researchers have created a technique that speeds up and slows down human heart cells that are being grown in a dish on command by shining light on them and varying the intensity.

The heart cells are being grown in graphene which turns light into electricity, a more realistic environment that traditional plastic or glass laboratory dishes. The researchers suggest that the method could be used in a number of research and clinical applications including testing therapeutic drugs, developing use-specific drugs that are more precise and have fewer systemic effects and create better medical devices like light-controlled pacemakers.

Get the full story on our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

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