A team of local scientists says it has developed a method of converting somatic cells into neurons using electromagnetized gold nanoparticles.
 
Dongguk University Professor Kim Jong-pil and researcher Yoo Jun-sang announced on Tuesday that with the technology, their team succeeded in reprogramming a somatic cell in the brain of a mouse to a neuron. The team said that they applied the technology on a mouse with Parkinson’s disease and found that the production of the neurons helped treat the disease.
 
The team believes that the technology, if further developed, could be used to treat a wide range of diseases, including Parkison’s, diabetes and dementia.
 
The team’s research results were published in the international journal Nature Nanotechnology.