IISc unveils LISA to control Aurora A with blue light
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have created a new tool called LISA, which uses blue light to control a key protein (Aurora A kinase) during cell division.
This lets scientists study centrosomes and spindle assembly in much greater detail.
Unlike older methods, LISA does not need extra scaffolding, so it works with different types of cells more easily.
LISA may aid cancer drug development
The team, led by associate professor Sachin Kotak, tweaked an existing technique so that instead of stopping things, they can now switch them on with light.
This is big news for cancer studies because Aurora A kinase is overexpressed in many solid tumors.
With LISA, researchers can target this protein more precisely and maybe even find new ways to develop drugs that go beyond current limits.