It's the most basic of ways to find out what something does, whether it's an unmarked circuit breaker or an unidentified gene—flip its switch and see what happens. New remote-control technology may offer biologists a powerful way to do this with cells and genes. A team at Rockefeller University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is developing a system that would make it possible to remotely control biological targets in living animals—rapidly, without wires, implants or drugs.
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