Chinese researchers have come up with a novel method of delivering insulin engineered cells and smartphone controlled LED (light emitting diode) light.

Diabetic patients require daily dosage of insulin. Injecting insulin into the body is painful and increases the risk of infections. This new method is a great relief to patients as they need not use needles for injecting insulin. Scientists took human cells and engineered them genetically to produce insulin. The cells are then triggered on specific wavelength of red LED light. This is done with a process called optogenetics. Optogenetics is a technique through which genes can be turned on and off by exposing to light. The genetically engineered cells on exposure to red LED light gets triggered that produces insulin in the body. The LED light was connected to smartphone so that the process can be triggered just by a single button click.

Test were carried on mice and the scientists can control the intensities of the light depending on the amount of insulin to be generated. Though mice trails ae successful, they can’t be readily used for humans. A lot of research still is required.

The field of optogenetics opens a wide scope of different ailments in future for us.