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THE FIRST-EVER GENETIC TOGGLE SWITCH, DESIGNED TO CONTROL THE ACTIVITY OF GENES, WAS RECENTLY ENGINEERED
19 January 2000 - Boston University
| The first-ever "genetic toggle switch," designed to control the activity of genes, was recently engineered by scientists at Boston University's Center for BioDynamics and Department of Biomedical Engineering. Working with the bacteria Escherichia coli, the researchers were able to successfully switch the expression of genes between stable on and off states by applying a brief chemical or temperature stimulus. The work is reported in the January 20 issue of Nature. |
"Regulatory circuits that are stable in both the on and off positions exist naturally in some very specialized genetic systems," says James J. Collins, director of CBD and co-author, "but this is the first time anyone has been able to create a synthetic bistable on/off switch to control the expression of a gene, a switch that can be generalized to a variety of genes in many different organisms, including human cells." The toggle also represents the core technology for additional genetic control devices. "Minor modifications to the toggle can be made to produce a genetic sensor with an adjustable threshold, a system in which genes are activated or repressed when a specific threshold is reached," notes Timothy S. Gardner, a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical engineering and lead author of the study. "This type of sensor would be useful in controlling diabetes, for example, by automatically activating the synthesis of insulin when blood glucose reaches a particular level." Such a system also has potential applications in the detection of biological warfare agents, turning the body’s own cells into sensors that alert the individual to the presence of dangerous substances, and even triggering the production of an antidote. Moreover, the toggle switch itself can function as an artificial cellular memory unit, the basis of cell-based computing. "Since Richard Feynman’s visionary suggestion, in 1959, of engineering submicroscopic devices, the concept of nanoscale robotics has sparked researchers’ imaginations," says Gardner. "In recent years, this possibility has frequently been identified with microelectromechanical devices. We suggest that nanoscale robotics may take on a ‘wetter’ form, namely, a living cell. Ultimately, we envision the combination of genetic toggles, genetic sensors, sequential expression networks, and other devices into a ‘Genetic Applet’, a self-contained and fully programmable genetic network for the control of cell function."
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Boston University has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in research in a wide range of disciplines and a demonstrated commitment to fostering innovative interdisciplinary research. The Office of the Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Education supports the University in facilitating research at the both the student and faculty levels.Our mission is to enhance and encourage research at Boston University and to provide a climate conducive to maintaining the University at the cutting edge of research and scholarly activities. We work with the Boston University community to plan and coordinate interdisciplinary research and represent the University in research matters related to Inter-University consortia. To encourage new, innovative, and cross-disciplinary efforts, this office administers the Special Program for Research Initiation Grants (SPRInG). We showcase graduate research at Science & Technology Day. This annual event features nearly 200 research posters by graduate students from both the Medical and Charles River Campuses working in a wide range of disciplines. Our annual research magazine, Research at Boston University, informs a wide audience about a selection of our significant research findings and ongoing studies at Boston University. We also maintain a strong presence on the web through this site and through the Science Coalition’s website, which brings our research successes to the attention of Congress and other policy makers in the federal government. To assist Boston University researchers, this office oversees the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and coordinates with the Office of Sponsored Programs on the Charles River Campus , the research administration on the Medical Campus, the Office of Research Compliance, and the various graduate programs. For the development of commercially viable ideas, we administer the Provost's Innovation Fund and work closely with the Office of Technology Transfer. We also coordinate proposals where there are institutional limits to the number of proposals that may be submitted, cost sharing requirements, significant laboratory renovations, or other special circumstances. This office assists departments and centers to achieve a diverse faculty and graduate student body through our membership and activities with the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and through our affiliation with the Clare Boothe Luce program of the Henry Luce Foundation. |
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