Designed protein switch allows unprecedented control over living cells

Scientists at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the University of California San Francisco have created the first artificial protein switch that can work inside living cells to modify the cell's complex internal circuitry. The scientists have shown that this switch can be "programmed" to modify gene expression, redirect cellular traffic, degrade specific proteins, and control protein interactions. Once assembled by a cell, these switches measure eight nanometers on their longest side.