New artificial cells hope to sense tumor markers

Natural cells themselves have the ability to respond to external chemical changes, but the process is complex and difficult to regulate preciselyThe new type of man-made cells cultured by the research team in the lab can detect and react to chemical signals outside the cell by activating an artificial signaling pathway inside the cellIn the experiment, these artificial cells were able to sense changes in calcium ions and show their reactions to them in the form of luminescencethe process by which the artificial cells react to chemical changes is much simpler than that of natural cells, making it easier for researchers to regulateThe paper's lead author, James Hindley of Imperial College, said the artificial cells have good application prospects, "for example, in the future, we can create artificial cells that can sense tumor markers and synthesize drugs in the body, or develop artificial cells that can sense dangerous heavy metals in the environment and release spongy substances to remove them."