http://www.nature.com/nsu/040315/040315-2.html
Using very short, very powerful electric shocks, researchers are developing
a way to jolt cancer cells into committing suicide, or healthy cells into
healing wounds.

The technique involves blasting cells with nanopulses. These are high-power
electrical bolts that last a few billionths of a second. They deliver
millions of volts - enough to light up a city, but each burst lasts much
less than the blink of an eye.

Longer shocks blow a cell apart, but researchers have found that the
fleeting nanopulses leave the cell membrane unaffected while mixing up its
insides. Now they are working out how to vary the timing and intensity of
the shocks to make cells behave in specific ways.

etc.

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