Researchers at the University of Adelaide have unveiled a groundbreaking technology called dFLASH, designed to enhance drug and functional genomics screenings, potentially transforming disease treatment.

dFLASH, which stands for dual FLuorescent transcription factor Activity Sensor for Histone-integrated live-cell reporting, enables the identification of new cellular targets for therapeutic intervention.

This innovative technology allows for rapid screening of hundreds of thousands to millions of individual drugs or genes in living cells, significantly accelerating the discovery of new therapeutic targets and medicines.

dFLASH provides a highly sensitive platform for large-scale drug and genetic screenings, facilitating the identification of novel drugs and genes that influence critical therapeutic signaling pathways.

In demonstrating the capabilities of dFLASH, researchers investigated cellular responses to low oxygen levels, which are particularly relevant for cancer and anemia treatment, as well as the hormonal progesterone signaling pathway, crucial for female reproduction.

Co-author Alison Roennfeldt noted that dFLASH is being utilized to advance cellular therapies and explore how DNA's sequence and structure regulate gene control, potentially reshaping treatment and research approaches.

Dr. Bersten emphasized the importance of collaborative innovation in developing next-generation tools for biology and medicine, highlighting contributions from several professors at the University.

Senior author Dr. David Bersten stated that this technology could accelerate the discovery of treatments for various conditions, including cancer and metabolic diseases, while also promoting the development of non-hormonal contraceptives.

Overall, dFLASH is expected to serve as a foundational technology for academic research and therapeutic development across biomedical science.

The research was conducted by teams from the School of Biological Sciences, Robinson Research Institute, Adelaide Center for Epigenetics, and South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute, with their findings published in the journal Nature Communications.