Mogrify: New Algorithm That Could Regrow Limbs, Create Any Human Organ
Source: Darwin Malicdem
Doctors could soon naturally regrow any organ for patients using a new computer code model, called Mogrify, developed to help scientists reprogram cells to create organs, regrow limbs and patch up the human body.
Mogrify, an algorithm described in a study published in the Nature Genetics, was designed to speed up the process that creates pluripotent stem cells.
Pluripotent stem cells can be used to form any type of specialized cell in the body, including eye tissue, a neural cell, or cells to build a heart.
The researchers said they have successfully used Mogrify in early tests to compute the required set of factors to change cells, which may soon be used to form an organ.
“Mogrify acts like a ‘world atlas’ for the cell and allows us to map out new territories in cell conversions in humans,” said researcher Owen Rackham, from the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore.
“One of the first clinical applications that we hope to achieve with this innovative approach would be to [reprogram] ‘defective’ cells from patients into ‘functioning’ healthy cells, without the intermediate induced pluripotent stem cells step,” he added.
If successful, the new healthy cells can be re-implanted into patients and Mogrify would significantly contribute to development of new regenerative medicine techniques, Rackham said.
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The algorithm uses data of more than 300 human cell and tissue types, which allow Mogrify to “predict the optimal set of cellular factors required for any given cell conversion,” researchers said.
In two theoretical trials, the algorithm correctly predicted the appropriate human cell conversion calculation at the first time of asking, which boosts its potential to be an effective regenerative method.
The team now plans to use Mogrify to solve the current challenge for scientists to grow cells in the way they want.
Photo: Keoni Cabral/flickr
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