Monday, October 27, 2008
Scientists Create Organic Wires for Use in the Human Body
As we all know, circuit elements are concentrated and connected by wires in circuits, while in the body, organs serve as sources and the only form of conductors. Until now. Newly developed organic wires have the potential to replace human nerves, curing diseases of the nervous system ands injuries to the spinal cord, as well as power and interact with man-made electronic devices in the body. Although this technology is in its infancy, these wires should open many doors for future bioelectrical engineers.
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2 comments:
First of all, thanks for that interesting post. I looked at the article you linked to and found the researcher's comments about the directions this research could be heading in: "Can we use these materials to guide electrical current at the nanoscale? Can we use them to regulate cell-to-cell communication as a prelude to re- engineering neural networks or damaged spinal cords?"
It just so happened that I also saw the Julie Wosk exhibit "Alluring Androids, Robot Women, and Electronic Eves: Film, Photography, and Art" in the humanities corridor today so this research on organic wires seems to me both exciting for its medical applications and disturbing... it has potential to further blur the line between human and technology, which may or may not be a good thing, but definitely raises some interesting questions about defining humanity.
Please stop by her exhibit when you take a break from studying--it's fascinating!
at first i thought this research was about carbon nanotubes, but these conductors are actually composed of peptides, very cool :)
i'll definitely have to check out the exhibit in the corridor too :) thanks again :)
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