3D Printer Used to Create Artificial Blood Vessels

Posted on September 19, 2011 by pourcirm

Part of the reason I want to build a 3D printer so much is that I believe they are going to be a huge tool in the future of the engineering field. This story proves that point very clearly. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have successfully used a 3D printer to create artificial blood vessels. Using this new method they hope to supply artificially created organs with the blood supply needed to get nutrients and oxygen to the cells.

I can only imagine 10 years from now being in a hospital watching them print someone a new organ because they need a transplant.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14946808

Posted in Biomedical Engineering, Engineering, Medical | Leave a comment

Glowing Wound Dressing Indicates Infection

Posted on September 18, 2011 by pourcirm

I’ve found yet another story about something that glows. This one is a bit different however and may prove to be more useful more quickly. Scientists at Sheffield University in the UK have created a new wound dressing that contains a gel with molecules that bind with bacteria and activate a fluorescent dye. Under excitation these dressings glow a pink color to notify doctors of the level of infection present around the wound.

This would be cool to have normal bandages that let you know if you need to wash out that nasty cut you got earlier in the week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-14945614

Posted in Biomedical Engineering, Medical | Leave a comment

9 MIT Media Lab Ideas to Change the World

Posted on September 15, 2011 by pourcirm

I thought this was a nice short article about the MIT Media Lab. The article is basically a picture gallery of a few technologies that have come out of the lab and some that are going to come out in the future. It’s interesting to see some of the variation in ideas that are being developed there and how groups like that can really accomplish a lot.

I know the MIT Media Lab is definitely somewhere I would like to have the chance to check out.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/09/9-mit-media-lab-ideas-that-are-changing-lives-or-will-soon/245022/

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Glowing Cats Shed Light on AIDS

Posted on September 12, 2011 by pourcirm

While the title is a bit of an iffy pun this article from BBC News is much more scientific than it sounds. Scientists have inserted a gene into cats that help them resist the feline form of AIDS. While they were at it thought they also decided to insert another gene which produces a glowing protein. With these changes made they have produced a cat that not only glows in the dark, but also has cells which resist feline AIDS. Scientists hope that when they actually expose the cats to the feline virus they will possess full immunity to the disease.

I know this has big implications for humans if we can better understand how to develop immunity, but I can’t get past how cool it would be to have a dog or cat the glows in the dark.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14882008

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Never Forgotten

Posted on September 11, 2011 by pourcirm

On a day like this images and memories do much more than words ever could. September 11th 2001 is a day that will never be forgotten. The New York Times has a specially dedicated page that I’ve started to look through and thought I would share.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/us/sept-11-reckoning/viewer.html

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