Trying gene therapy to create biological pacemaker

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This handout photo provided by Cedars-Sinai, taken in Feb. 2014, shows Dr. Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles. No batteries required: Scientists are creating a biological pacemaker, by injecting a gene into the hearts of sick pigs that changed ordinary cardiac cells into a special kind that induce a steady heartbeat. The study, published Wednesday, is one step toward developing an alternative to electronic pacemakers that are implanted into 300,000 Americans a year."There are people who desperately need a pacemaker but can't get one safely," said Marban, who led the work. "This development heralds a new era of gene therapy" that one day might offer them an option. (AP Photo/Eric Myer, Cedars-Sinia)WASHINGTON (AP) — No batteries required: Scientists are creating a biological pacemaker by injecting a gene into the hearts of sick pigs that changed ordinary cardiac cells into a special kind that induces a steady heartbeat.

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