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Posts tagged biotech
The Rats Will Power The Matrix
Sep 19th
French researchers have created just that, and it’s smaller and more powerful than current batteries meant to function inside a living being. And the battery has the survival readiness as rat’s themselves, as it’s the first batter to work inside a living rat. The battery worked for 11 days in its first trial. During the trial, the device produced 2 microwaves of power over several hours with a peak energy density of 24.4 microwaves per milliliter (or .73 microwaves per inch). A standard pacemaker battery requires a sustained power of 10 microwaves. A larger version of the biocell could easily power a pacemaker and would be significantly smaller that batteries currently in use.
Don’t worry, the rat was not harmed during the experiment and survived without complications. Upon removing the device, the researchers found that the rat’s body had ‘accepted’ it by coating the device with tissue containing newly grown blood vessels. This proves the body would facilitate oxygen and glucose movement to the implant.
“In the future we are expecting to develop, for instance, implantable biosensors able to monitor the level of glucose to control the insulin pump,” an implant used to treat diabetes, said study co-author Serge Cosnier of the Université Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, France.
Don’t worry, the rat was not harmed during the experiment and survived without complications. Upon removing the device, the researchers found that the rat’s body had ‘accepted’ it by coating the device with tissue containing newly grown blood vessels. This proves the body would facilitate oxygen and glucose movement to the implant.
“In the future we are expecting to develop, for instance, implantable biosensors able to monitor the level of glucose to control the insulin pump,” an implant used to treat diabetes, said study co-author Serge Cosnier of the Université Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, France.
Not all plants are created equal
Sep 15th
B. C. Wolverton, Ph.D, has worked as a research scientist for NASA for over 20 years. His study, in the late ’80s and early ’90s, of the interaction of plants and air found that houseplants, when placed in sealed chambers in the presence of specific chemicals, removed those chemicals from the chambers. Though the positive impact of houseplants on indoor has become common knowledge, it turns out that some plants are better at removing toxins like carbon monoxide, benzene and pesticides from the air than others. A study conducted by NASA found 50 plants that remove many or all of the most common indoor air toxins. Wolverton rated these 50 plants for removing chemical vapors, ease of growth, resistance to insect problems, and transpiration (the amount of water they expire into the air). He assigned plants a rating from one to 10, based on these different factors, and came up with the 10 best plants for removing indoor air toxins. The 10 plants are: Areca Palm, Lady Palm, Bamboo Palm, Rubber Plant, Dracaena “Janet Craig”, Philodendron, Dwarf Date Palm, Ficus Alii, Boston Red Fern, and Peace Lily.
A Garden of Bricks? Startup Makes “Garden Grown” Bricks
Sep 2nd
The winner of the 2010 Next Generation contest from Metropolis Magazine is a brick that is grown rather than baked or fired. The process starts with sand, which is then printed with a layer of bacteria, calcium chloride, and urea. Microbes in the sand react with that mixture, forming a glue that binds the sand together. The finished product is as strong as marble and world-wide carbon emissions could be reduced by “at least” 800 million tons a year if this process were streamlined and the bricks were mass produced. Over 1.2 trillion bricks are manufactured every year. Images after the break
Bone regrowth no longer just a Harry Potter phenomenon
Aug 27th
Scientists at the Center of Innovation for Biomaterials in Orthopaedic Research in Wichita, Kansas, have regrown one centimeter of bone in a rat femur. The cut part of the bone was wrapped in a porous scaffolding of composite materials, where the bone and blood vessels would grow through and rejoin the sections. It’s similar to how a lizard regrows its tail. This breakthrough could prevent many amputations in the future and provide a better medical solution to those who lose limbs of sections of their skulls.
Genetic Modification is Natural After All
Aug 14th
n North Dakota, populations of genetically modified canola flowers have been found growing everywhere, from fields to parking lots to cemeteries. These plants have cross-pollinated with normal canola flowers to create pesticide-resistant strains, which are resistant to both LibertyLink and Roundup Ready. This is the first instance of genetically modified plants growing wild in the United States, though instances have occurred in Canada and in Japan. It’s suspected that these populations are the result of relaxed monitoring and regulation of genetically modified crops in the country, where the seeds are most likely from passing farm trucks.
Video: Craig Venter On Synthetic Life
May 28th
Remember Mr. Venter? The artificial cell guy? We have a video of the dude making the presentation on the synthetic life his team created. Watch!
Biotech incubator opens its doors at UC Berkeley
May 27th
The California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3) at the University of California, Berkeley, opened a new biotech incubator on Thursday, May 6, hoping to duplicate the success of the “QB3 Garage@UCSF,” which has helped birth more than 28 biotech startups since 2006. Recent UC Berkeley Ph.D. graduate Wesley Chang is the QB3 Garage@Berkeley’s first tenant,
Artificial Life Created By Humans. Now Go Pray To God, If You Still “Believe”.
May 22nd
Its a great day for atheists, I am one. The first fully “artificial” cell has been created thanks to Craig Venter, the all so awesome dude who created synthetic DNA Yes, DNA not from another animal – purely synthetic, like your water bottle. A bunch of scientists took this synthetic DNA, built chromosomes and created
Itsy-bitsy DNA spider: Molecules behave like robots
May 14th
A team of scientists from Columbia University, Arizona State University, the University of Michigan, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have programmed an autonomous molecular “robot” made out of DNA to start, move, turn, and stop while following a DNA track. The development could ultimately lead to molecular systems that might one day be
Chip Checks For Oral Cancer
Apr 12th
The gentle touch of a lesion on the tongue or cheek with a brush can help detect oral cancer with success rates comparable to more invasive techniques, according to preliminary studies by researchers at Rice University, the University of Texas Health Science Centers at Houston and San Antonio and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
