Research funded by the U.S. Army and conducted by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Université de Bordeaux, France, is at the cutting edge of a new technique that may be used to treat cancer and even heal wounds sustained in combat. With the technique, known as electroporation, an electrical field is applied to cells in order to increase the permeability of the cell membrane, allowing chemicals, drugs or DNA to be introduced into the cell, according to a recent news release. This research is the first to develop a computational model using the procedure. The model has been compared and validated with the response of a single cell in experiments. One potential application of the technology is accelerating the healing of combat wounds through electric pulses introduced into the cell. Researchers are currently mining data to further develop their theory. Read more at Army.mil.
Army Research May Help Treat Cancer, Heal Wounds
