Biocomputer kills cancer cells, spares healthy ones

Scientists have designed a bio-computer which can identify and kill cancer cells without harming the healthy ones.

Bio-computers use biologically derived materials such as DNA or proteins to perform programmed functions.

Synthetic biologist Yaakov Benenson of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich collaborated with Ron Weiss of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, to design a multi-gene synthetic "circuit" to distinguish between cancer and healthy cells. 

This circuit works by sampling cancer-specific molecular factors and their concentration, ensuring a highly precise detection, the journal Science reports.

The scientists tested the gene network in two types of cultured human cells: cervical cancer cells, called HeLa cells, and normal cells, according to a Swiss Federal Institute statement.

The genetic bio-computer, when introduced into different cell types, destroyed only HeLa cells, but spared the healthy ones.