Scientists have built artificial neurons that fully mimic human brain cells

They could supplement our brain function.

Researchers have built the world’s first artificial neuron that’s capable of mimicking the function of an organic brain cell - including the ability to translate chemical signals into electrical impulses, and communicate with other human cells.

These artificial neurons are the size of a fingertip and contain no ‘living’ parts, but the team is working on shrinking them down so they can be implanted into humans. This could allow us to effectively replace damaged nerve cells and develop new treatments for neurological disorders, such as spinal cord injuries and Parkinson’s disease.

Professor Agneta Richter Dahlfors. 

Foto: Stefan Zimmerman

"Our artificial neuron is made of conductive polymers and it functions like a human neuron," lead researcher Agneta Richter-Dahlfors from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden said in a press release.

Until now, scientists have only been able to stimulate brain cells using electrical impulses, which is how they transmit information within the cells. But in our bodies they're stimulated by chemical signals, and this is how they communicate with other neurons.

By connecting enzyme-based biosensors to organic electronic ion pumps, Richter-Dahlfors and her team have now managed to create an artificial neuron that can mimic this function, and they've shown that it can communicate chemically with organic brain cells even over large distances.

"The sensing component of the artificial neuron senses a change in chemical signals in one dish, and translates this into an electrical signal," said Richter-Dahlfors. "This electrical signal is next translated into the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in a second dish, whose effect on living human cells can be monitored."

This means that artificial neurons could theoretically be integrated into complex biological systems, such as our bodies, and could allow scientists to replace or bypass damaged nerve cells. So imagine being able to use the device to restore function to paralysed patients, or heal brain damage.

"Next, we would like to miniaturise this device to enable implantation into the human body," said Richer-Dahlfors.“We foresee that in the future, by adding the concept of wireless communication, the biosensor could be placed in one part of the body, and trigger release of neurotransmitters at distant locations."

"Using such auto-regulated sensing and delivery, or possibly a remote control, new and exciting opportunities for future research and treatment of neurological disorders can be envisaged," she added.

The results of lab trials have been published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

We're really looking forward to seeing where this research goes. While the potential for treating neurological disorders are incredibly exciting, the artificial neurons could one day also help us to supplement our mental abilities and add extra memory storage or offer faster processing, and that opens up some pretty awesome possibilities.

ORIGINAL: Science Alert

By FIONA MACDONALD

29 JUN 2015

World's First Artificial Enzymes Created From Synthetic Genetic Material

photo credit: University of Liverpool Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, via Flickr. CC BY 2.0

Scientists have made a breakthrough in the field of synthetic biology by creating, for the first time, enzymes from artificial genetic material that does not exist in nature. This exciting new work not only offers new insights into the origins of life on Earth, but also has implications for our search for extraterrestrial life on other planets.

The foundations for this study were laid a couple of years ago when UK scientists created synthetic versions of DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic information of all living things on Earth, and its close chemical cousin, RNA. This synthetic genetic material was created using the same building blocks that are found in DNA and RNA, but the scientists strung them together with different molecules. These resulting synthetic molecules, which were dubbed ‘XNAs,’ or xeno nucleic acid, were found to be capable of storing and passing on genetic information.

Although it was widely believed that DNA and RNA, together with proteins, were the only molecules that could form enzymes, the same researchers have now demonstrated that it is possible to create synthetic enzymes using only these XNAs. These molecules, which have been named ‘XNAzymes,’ were capable of chopping up and stitching together bits of RNA, just like natural enzymes. One of them was even capable of joining up fragments of XNA.

Enzymes, nature’s catalysts, are fundamental to life on Earth because almost all of the biochemical reactions taking place in cells are inefficient at ambient temperatures. Enzymes are therefore required to give reactions, such as synthesizing DNA or digesting food, a kick-start, allowing them to occur at rates sufficient for life to exist.

Although the majority of enzymes are proteins, some RNA molecules possess catalytic activity. It’s widely believed that the evolution of early pieces of genetic information, which may have been RNA, into self-replicating enzymes was likely a key event in the emergence of life on Earth. This work is therefore important because it recreates one of the earliest stages towards life. However, it also teases us with the possibility that life could evolve without DNA or RNA, which are widely regarded as the prerequisites for life.

“Our work suggests that, in principle, there are a number of possible alternatives to nature’s molecules that will support the catalytic processes required for life,” said lead scientist Philip Holliger. “Life’s ‘choice’ of RNA and DNA may just be an accident of prehistoric chemistry.”

Because it is possible to create genetic material and enzymes from building blocks that don’t occur naturally, this suggests that life could emerge from different molecular backbones on other planets. This could therefore “potentially widen the number of exoplanets that one could consider would be hospitable for some form of life,” according to Holliger.

This work, the researchers say, could also lead to a new wave of treatments for a variety of diseases. As explained by Dr. Holliger, it may be possible to synthesize XNAs that are capable of chopping up pieces of RNA produced from cancer genes or fragments of viral RNA. And because the XNAs don’t occur naturally, it is unlikely that they will be recognized and destroyed by other enzymes in the body.

[Via Nature, the Medical Research Council, BBC News, New Scientist and The Independent]

ORIGINAL: IFLScience

by Justine Alford

December 2, 2014