Author Archives: fardad

Humans Will Breath Under Water

Posted on March 11, 2013 | 4 comments

Have you ever tried to hold your breath for more than a minute under water? Well, if you had succeeded you were not reading this post! Holding breath under water has always been part of man’s dream. But it seems it will not be a dream for the future generations. According to a recent research  salamanders have developed the trait of producing oxygen themselves rather than taking it from atmosphere.

Baby under Water!

 

According to this study which was  conducted in Dalihousie University faculty of Zoology eggs of salamander , Ambystoma maculatum, were placed among chlamydomonad algae. The result of this experiment is that the DNA of the algae and the DNA of the salamander eggs were somehow combined. Algae is a nitrogen-dependent organism and produces oxygen gas as a form its waste. Salamanders on the other hand require oxygen to function and survive, and combining algae and the salamanders DNA would produce an organism which produces oxygen on its own and would not require oxygen  from atmosphere.

Salamander. Amphibian

Researchers have also found traces of this algae in mature salamander’s reproductive system which suggests that these algae are inherited to other generations.

What good is it to humans?

New technologies such as DNA Recombinant has enabled us to combine DNA strands of different species. In this technology, the wanted DNA is reproduced many times by molecular cloning in laboratory. These DNAs are then directed to the main DNA sequence by means of another organism and sequencing. Viruses are usually used in this step to deliver the multiplied DNA to the main DNA.

Formation of recombinant DNA requires a cloning vector, a DNA molecule that will replicate within a living cell. Vectors are generally derived from plasmids or viruses, and have the necessary sequence of DNA for replication. The inserted DNA may or may not express its codes depending on its place on the main DNA sequence. Thus, markers are used to place the DNA among functional genes.

Human DNA is packed with hundreds of viruses DNA s which have entered our DNA sequence along the course of evolution. This finding suggests that viral vectors can be used to alter human DNA sequence by means of insertion.  Recently, this technology has been used in the treatment course of of insulin-dependent diabetes. So, it’s not far beyond imagination if scientists mix algae DNA with that of human.

Soon the future of human beings will be altered with this technology and super humans will be produced! but until that day do not hold your breath for too long under water unless you are this guy:

References:

Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2008, 86(11): 1289-1298, 10.1139/Z08-115

 

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The Promised Future of Prosthetics: Robotic Limbs

Posted on February 11, 2013 | 6 comments

It must feel great to be able to feel a friend’s hand after seven years. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC have enabled a 30-year-old paralysed man to be able to move his robotic arm by means of electrodes placed in his brain. The tested patient has been paralysed for seven years after a motorcycle accident. “It feels like I’m robocop” says Tim Hemmes, the spinal patient. Researchers used the newly developed brain-computer interference (BCI) technology to make Tim he has hand again. The data released from Tim’s thoughts are then interpreted by an IBM designed processor. The analysed data are then put into command language for the robotic limb. “When Tim reached out to high-five me with the robotic arm, we knew this technology had the potential to help people who cannot move their own arms achieve greater independence,” said Dr. Wang, when watching a memorable scene in 2011.

Today, different types of bionics are being made. There exists bionic lenses, bionic arms and bionic legs. However, the accuracy of these devices are not perfect yet but the clinical cases are showing a promising future in this field.

Tim Hemmes’s case

How does it work?!

In order for patience to feel comfortable using the prosthetic limb, the designed limb’s weight should match the actual limb’s weight. This prevents researchers from producing gigantic robots. The next step in making a robotic limb is building an appropriate BCI which matches the right part of the brain. In order to do so, researchers use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to find the right place for the conductors. Conductors take data orders from your brain and analyse those data using bio-computational algorithms to transform data into machine language. The robots then do the job for the patient.

 

The robots used should have the same functionality as the actual limb since it is believed the brain of the patient can only command in a certain manner. That certain manner matches with what the patient did with his/her actual limb and our brains are not trained for anything beyond what our limbs can do.

Below is a Ted talk showing the clinical accomplishments of robotic limbs:

Although it is very early to comment on this technology but it is pretty evident that soon this technology will become a solution for amputated limbs. Many different researched are also being conducted on robotic lenses but not a lot of successful cases have been reported yet.

References:

1. Di Pino G, Porcaro C, Tombini M, et al. A neurally-interfaced hand prosthesis tuned inter-hemispheric communication. Restorative Neurol Neurosci. 2012;30(5):407-418.

2. Di Pino G, Porcaro C, Tombini M, et al. A neurally-interfaced hand prosthesis tuned inter-hemispheric communication. Restorative Neurol Neurosci. 2012;30(5):407-418.

3. Guymer R. The challenge and the promise of the bionic eye. the bionic vision australia project. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2012;40:123-124.

4. Li Hu, Yang Jian-yu, Su Peng-cheng, Wang Wan-shan. Computer aided modeling and pore distribution of bionic porous bone structure. J Cent South Univ. 2012;19(12):3492-3499.

5. Mironov V, Boland T, Trusk T, Forgacs G, Markwald RR. Organ printing: Computer-aided jet-based 3D tissue engineering. Trends Biotechnol. 2003;21(4):157-161.

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science Communication, Science in the News

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The promising future of transplantation

Posted on January 20, 2013 | 4 comments

Are you wearing a donor wrist band? Well! Take it off. Soon no one will need your organs any-more . ‘Printing‘ the organs is a new technology which can revolutionize all transplantation procedures performed in today’s medical world. Tissue engineering technology or ‘printing’ is a new way of producing human organs by means of computers and organ printers. 

Organ Printing or cell printing are very recent ideas which were introduced to the world of biotechnology in 1987. The technology has been rapidly developing ever since. Synthetic blood vessels are the first body-parts which were made by this technology.

Organ Printer

Luke Massee is the first patient who has experienced this new technology successfully. Luke was born with dysfunctional kidneys a condition know as CKD.  He was chosen over tens of candidates after 10 years of investigations. His case proved that not only this procedure is possible but also safe and cheap to use.

What is organ printing?

organ printing is a biomedical version of rapid prototyping technology which is based on tissue fluidity. Computer-assisted printers put natural component of an organ together in the right shape and form.

How does it work?

“It’s like making a cake” said Anthony Atala of Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.  A 3D scan of the wanted organ is captured first. Then, a sample from the recipient tissue is taken in order to make the organ with the right material. ‘Printer’ starts producing the organ layer by layer in the final step.  Thus, the procedure of organ printing can be divided into three main steps: preprocessing, processing and postprocessing. In preprocessing computer-aided design ( CAD) or blue print of the organ is done. in processing step, materials are put together by means of tissue scaffold. Printers play the main role in this step. postprinting is the final step and organ is double checked for functionality.

The progress of the stem cell technology has also greatly contributed to progress of the organ printing technology. Stem cells can be used to produce any organ in the body. They can be used for the tissue culturing and the produced culture can later on be used in producing the organ.

Anthony Atala: Printing a human kidney

Even though there has been one successful case of organ transplantation, there is still a lot not understood about human body and I believe it will take a long time for this technology to become accessible for everyone.  And until the day that science can solve every problem about our mysterious bodies it is much wiser to keep your donor wrist band on!

Refrences:

1. Mironov V, Boland T, Trusk T, Forgacs G, Markwald RR. Organ printing: Computer-aided jet-based 3D tissue engineering. Trends Biotechnol. 2003;21(4):157-161.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167779903000337#

 

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