Designer Cells to help release insulin with music.

[skb]

Diabetes is a condition in which the body produces too little or no insulin. Diabetics thus depend on an external supply of this hormone via injection or pump. Researchers led by Martin Fussenegger from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel, Switzerland want to make the lives of these people easier and are looking for solutions to produce and administer insulin directly in the body.

One such solution the scientists are pursuing is enclosing insulin-�producing designer cells in  capsules that can be implanted in the body. To be able to control from the outside when and how much insulin the cells release into the blood, researchers have studied and applied different triggers in recent years: light, temperature and electric fields.

Fussenegger and his colleagues have now developed another, novel stimulation method: they use music to trigger the cells to release insulin within minutes. This works especially well with "We Will Rock You," a global hit by British rock band, Queen.

Read More ...