This was from December 15, 2014...

Troy, N.Y. — It's the most basic of ways to find out what something does, whether it's an unmarked circuit breaker or an unidentified gene — flip its switch and see what happens. New remote-control technology may offer biologists a powerful way to do this with cells and genes. A team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Rockefeller University is developing a system that would make it possible to remotely control biological targets in living animals — rapidly, without wires, implants, or drugs.

In a technical report published today in the journal Nature Medicine, the team describes successfully using electromagnetic waves to turn on insulin production to lower blood sugar in diabetic mice. Their system couples a natural iron storage particle, ferritin, to activate an ion channel called TRPV1 such that when the metal particle is exposed to a radio wave or magnetic field, it opens the channel, leading to the activation of an insulin-producing gene. Together, the two proteins act as a nano-machine that can be used to trigger gene expression in cells.