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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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This Medical Device Acts Like An Artificial Pancreas Inside The Body May End Daily Insulin Injections For Diabetes Patients

For millions of people living with diabetes, daily insulin injections are a lifelong reality. Every meal, every activity, and every change in routine must be carefully balanced with insulin doses. But a pioneering new study may soon change that story forever.

Scientists from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, working closely with MIT, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Massachusetts, have developed a revolutionary living implant that acts like an artificial pancreas inside the body. The research, led by Assistant Professor Shady Farah, has been published in the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine.

This breakthrough introduces a tiny, cell-based implant that can sense blood sugar levels, produce insulin, and release exactly the right amount—automatically. Once implanted, it works entirely on its own, without pumps, injections, or daily patient involvement.

In simple terms, it becomes a self-regulating, drug-making organ living inside the body.

A Smart Implant That Thinks for Itself

The new technology is built around living insulin-producing cells enclosed inside a special protective structure. These cells continuously monitor glucose levels in the bloodstream. When sugar levels rise, the implant releases insulin. When levels fall, insulin production slows.

Just like a healthy pancreas.

What makes this system truly special is that it forms a complete “closed loop.” That means it senses, decides, and acts—all automatically. There are no wires, no external devices, and no manual adjustments required.

Researchers describe it as a “living drug”: instead of injecting medicine repeatedly, the body receives continuous therapy from within.

Solving a Decades-Old Problem: Immune Rejection

Cell-based treatments have been studied for many years, but one major challenge has always stood in the way—the immune system.

When foreign cells are implanted in the body, the immune system usually attacks them, treating them like invaders. This immune rejection has limited the success of many promising therapies.

Professor Farah’s team tackled this problem with an ingenious solution: a crystalline shield.

They developed specially engineered therapeutic crystals that surround and protect the implanted cells. This crystalline shield hides the implant from the immune system, preventing immune attacks while still allowing nutrients, oxygen, and insulin to pass through.

Thanks to this protection, the implant can survive and function continuously for several years.

This is one of the most important breakthroughs of the study.

Promising Results in Animal Studies

So far, the technology has been tested in mice and non-human primates.

In mice, the implant successfully controlled blood sugar levels over long periods, proving its ability to act as a functional artificial pancreas.

In primates, the researchers confirmed that the implanted cells remained alive and active, showing strong signs of long-term stability and performance.

These results mark a critical milestone on the path toward human trials.

While more testing is needed before clinical use, scientists say the findings strongly support the possibility of future treatment in people with diabetes.

From a Postdoctoral Idea to Global Collaboration

The idea for this revolutionary implant began in 2018, when Shady Farah was a postdoctoral researcher at MIT and Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He worked under the guidance of Professor Daniel Anderson and Professor Robert (Bob) Langer, a world leader in tissue engineering and co-founder of Moderna.

What started as a research concept has now grown into a large international collaboration.

Today, Professor Farah continues this work in his laboratory at the Technion, partnering with leading institutions in the United States, including MIT, Harvard, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the University of Massachusetts.

The study’s equal co-first authors are Matthew Bochenek (MIT), Shady Farah (Technion), and Joshua Doloff (Johns Hopkins University). Several members of the Farah lab also contributed, including Dr. Merna Shaheen-Mualim and former master’s students Neta Kutner and Edward Odeh.

This global teamwork highlights how modern medical breakthroughs often emerge from shared knowledge across borders.

Beyond Diabetes: A Platform for Many Diseases

Although diabetes is the first target, researchers believe this technology could be adapted to treat many other chronic conditions.

The same implant platform could potentially deliver biological therapies for:

  • Hemophilia

  • Genetic disorders

  • Metabolic diseases

  • Hormone deficiencies

Any condition that requires continuous delivery of therapeutic proteins might benefit.

Instead of regular injections or hospital visits, patients could receive long-term treatment from a single implanted device.

This represents a major shift—from repeated drug administration to self-regulating, living therapies.

A New Future for Chronic Disease Care

If successfully translated to human patients, this technology could completely redefine how chronic diseases are treated.

Imagine a future where:

  • Diabetes patients no longer need daily insulin shots

  • Blood sugar stays stable automatically

  • Treatment works quietly in the background

  • Quality of life improves dramatically

Such advances could reduce complications, lower healthcare costs, and ease the emotional burden of lifelong disease management.

Most importantly, it offers hope—hope for simpler, safer, and more natural treatment.

Looking Ahead

While human trials are still ahead, this study marks a powerful step forward. It combines biology, engineering, and materials science in a way never achieved before.

The living implant, protected by its crystalline shield, shows how medicine is moving toward smarter, more personalized solutions that work from inside the body.

For millions living with diabetes—and many more with chronic conditions—this breakthrough points toward a future where treatment is no longer something you do, but something your body simply has.

And that could change everything.

Reference: 

  • Matthew A. Bochenek et al.
    •  
,
Crystallized colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor inhibitor protects immunoisolated allo but not xeno transplants in primates.Sci. Transl. Med.18,eadt1055(2026).DOI:10.1126/scitranslmed.adt1055

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