🧬 Imagine if we could make medicines that fit our bodies perfectly! Well, scientists in Australia are working on just that!
Our bodies are made up of tiny building blocks called proteins. Proteins help us do everything from moving our muscles to fighting off germs.
Sometimes, to help people who are sick, scientists try to make or improve proteins. But until now, they usually had to use bacteria or yeast cells to do this. These cells are different from the cells in our bodies, so the proteins they make might not work as well in humans.
But here’s the exciting news! 🥳 Scientists at the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney have created a new tool called PROTEUS (which stands for PROTein Evolution Using Selection).
So what does PROTEUS do? It helps scientists grow and change proteins inside human-like cells, called mammalian cells. This means the proteins can be just right for our bodies!
Using PROTEUS, scientists can make tiny changes (or mutations) in proteins and pick out the ones that work best. It’s like planting lots of seeds and choosing the healthiest plants! 🌱
They’ve already used PROTEUS to improve a protein that controls genes and to develop a special tiny antibody (called a nano-body) that can find damaged DNA, which is important in cancer research.
Why is this important? With PROTEUS, scientists hope to create new medicines that work better and help more people. It’s a big step forward in treating diseases and understanding how our bodies work.
Who knows? Maybe one day, thanks to tools like PROTEUS, we’ll be able to cure diseases that have been around for a long time! 🌟
Science is amazing, isn’t it? Keep exploring and stay curious! 🧪🚀
Reference(s):
New platform transforms protein evolution for next-gen therapies
cgtn.com
