CSB # 5 Role of Nanotechnology in Surgery Applications

Role of Nanotechnology in Surgery Applications

Summary/Discussion:
Nano particles have ignited enormous scientific and technological interest due to their ease of synthesis, chemical stability, and specific optical properties. These extremely small particles have been developed for several applications including drug delivery, computer engineering, and even in everyday products such as sunscreen. However, a new use for these nanoparticles is emerging in the surgery field. Dr. Bozhi Tian, PhD, of Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is working on producing a unique nanoparticle that can repair tissue at a cellular level through synthesized tissues that the nanoparticles carry. This can be achieved by combining synthetic devises (nanoparticles, prosthetic tissues) to effectively recognize the damaged area and transport the tissue to the harmed area. Further advances include Dr. Daniel S. Kohane, of Children's Hospital Boston who is developing a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system that is activated through the patient on demand. Dr. Kohane notes that "Surgeons are effective gatekeepers in controlling access of technology to their patients. It is therefore important for surgeons to know what nanotechnology is and is not. The ability to assess the merits of nano-based approaches is crucial for the protection of the best interests of patients and for the assessment of the cost-effectiveness of new therapies."

I chose this topic because the application of nanotechnology is extremely interesting. Nanotechnology is a relatively new advancement in technology. Fighting cancer and drug delivery are the most well-known applications of nano particles.  The fact that now nanotechnology can be implemented into surgical operations amazes me as now nanotechnology is not limited to just drug delivery but can have many applications in the surgery field.  With that, nanotechnology could be combined with stem cells to deliver synthesized organs which in the future, would be a huge accomplishment. I think that this advancement will lead to many more scientific achievements

Resources:

Article: Weldon, Christopher. "Surgeons Predict the Future of Nano medicine Practice." 
     Science Daily. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. 
     <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110301122051.htm>.

Image: N.d Techfaq: "Nanotechnology." 
     TopBits.com. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. 
http://www.tech-faq.com/nanotechnology.html

Stem Cells Used to Grow Organs

Stem Cells Used to Grow Organs

Definitions:
Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the capacity to grow and mature into a wide range of specific cells.
Scaffolding is a structure inside each organ that defines its shape.

Summary:

Although seems unreal, growing organs from scratch has become reality. Twenty years ago, Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology  first introduced the new idea of creating new organs using stem cells. The scientists first discovered that each organ has its own specific scaffolding that defines the shape of the organ. He further acknowledged that each organ is made up of many cells, each with its own specific function. Langer created the scaffolding by mixing biodegradable polymers and using materials that are commonly found in the human body. The only problem Langer faced was that he did not know how to create the actual cells found in the organ. A solution to this is the discovery of stem cells. Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine created the first human bladder from stem cells. He did so by extracting stem cells from the patient who he was making this for and seeding a scaffolding into it. Two months later, the bladder had matured and grown and was ready to be implanted. The operation was successful and the history of science was revolutionized with this creation of an organ.

Discussion:I chose this article because it applies to my life as sometime in the future, I may need an organ to replace a failing one. Thus, instead of relying on somebody else's which is very risky, I could turn to a created organ which is more reliable than the traditional transplant methods. Although this achievement seems relatively small as the bladder is a simple organ, it leads the way for more complex creations in the future. Before reading this, I thought synthetic organs were impossible and was only found in science fiction, but these kinds of medical advancements are real and will certainly lead to much bigger achievements in the future. 

Questions:
If creating a bladder is possible, could creating a synthetic brain be possible?

How do you coax stem cells to differentiate to specific cell lines?

Citations:
Komaroff, Anthony M. "The Race to Grow New Organs." Marylin's Transplant News.
    , 7 Dec. 2010. Web. 9 Jan. 2011. <http://marylinstransplantpage.com/
     race-grow10.htm>.

CSB #3 Potent Anti-Tumor Gene Tested in Mice Produces Remission

Potent Anti-Tumor Gene Tested in Mice Produces Remission

Definitions:

Hematopoietic stem cells- The bone marrow cells that produce all blood and immune system cells.

melanoma- An oftentimes deadly type of skin cancer characterized by a black or dark brown-pigmented tumor.

Summary:

In the year of 2010 alone, more than 68,000 patients have been diagnosed with melanoma while 9000 deaths were affiliated with it. Current treatments for metastatic melanoma are toxic and unsuccessful as many of the patients die withing 6-12 months of diagnose.  

The Indiana School of Medicine tested a new T cell receptor gene into the hematopoietic stem cells of mice. What this specific gene does is that it detects a certain protein that is affiliated and found on the surface of melanoma. It is then cloned and sent back into the hosts. The results show that the transplantations of the genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells resulted in an immune system towards melanoma and eradicated all of the mice subject's tumors. This new gene may be a new approach towards this kind of skin cancer. 

Discussion:

I chose this article because cancer is one of the most devastating disease and that it is the cause of many deaths around the world. I also found it interesting as this new gene may be a novel method to treat melanoma. Ive always thought of cancer as a complex and unbeatable disease that will never be cured. However, with the discovering and testing of the new T receptor gene, it not only paves the way for new trials in usage of humans, but also gives hope that this new discovery may be a cure for cancer. 

Questions:

If this gene eradicated all of the mice's tumor cells, how can it be incorporated into destroying human tumor cells?

Will this gene cause any unwanted side effects when clinically tried in humans?

Citations:

Article and Picture: Ha, Sung P. "Gene therapy for metastic melanoma in mice produces complete 

     remission." Science Daily. Science News, 18 Nov. 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2010. 
     <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101118124206.htm>.

CSB #2: First self- repairing photovoltaic cell created

First Self-repairing Photovoltaic Cell Created

Definitions:

photovoltaic cell- A solar cell that converts sunlight directly into electricity.

nanotube- A cabon molecule that forms a tube-like structure, which when combined in layers, creates an immensly strong material.



Summary:

For many years, scientists have been trying to mimic plant's qualities of converting sunlight into energy using synthetic materials. However, the sun's rays destroy many of these photovoltaic cells over time. Scientists at the Massachusis Institute of Technology has suceeded in creating a self-renewing complexes that can convert light into electricity. The infastructure was made up of light harvesting proteins: walled nanotubes and disk shaped lipids. As the cell is exposed to solar radiation, the sunlight it converted into electrons. These nanotubes channel the electrons, creating a current. What makes this invention so unique is that scientists added a soap molecule that breaks down and reassembles the cell, making it self-repairing. This technology increases the efficientcy of alternate energy sources by 300% compared to a non-regenrable photovoltaic cell.

Discussion:

This article inspires me becauses it could potentially revolutionize alternative energy technology. This new technology could replace modern harmful energy sources such as oil. Personally, I think this is a great advancement towards alternative energy sources because it has low maintence due to the cells being sel-repairing and does not harm the environment. If we resort to these kinds of energy sources, although the short term effects may be unfavorable due to the expense of solar cells, the long term effects could benefit us greatly as it will sustain low evergy costs and provide a clean way to create energy. My only concern is wether or not people will turn to this energy source in the future. Many people may overlook the long term effects and focus soley on the short term consequences which would discourage them from using photovoltaic energy cells.

Questions:

How does the surfactant (a solution of soap molecules) make the photovoltaic cell result in renewing itself and making it self-repairing?

Is there a way to make the photovoltaic cell more efficient and convert more energy than the standard one?

Citations:

Article: Dume, Belle. "Self-Reparing Photovoltaic Cell not damaged by the Sun."
     Environmental Research Web. N.p., 9 Sept. 2010. Web. 14 Oct. 2010.
     http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/43700. 

Picture:

Web link

"40% Usage in Solar Cells." A Discovery Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2010.      <http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/stateoftheart_m.php>.

DNA tracks human origins

DNA Tracks Human Origins

Definitions:

Genetic Blueprint- A assortment of DNA and genes that combine to make a blueprint, defining characteristics for the organism. 

Neanderthal- An extinct primitive species of Homo Neanderthalensis which existed nearly 350,000 years ago.

Summary:

This article discuses the new discovery from DNA that some humans have evolved from the Neanderthals. In fact, 1 to 4 percent of the people in Asia and Europe was inherited from the Neanderthals. As this extinct group existed 650,000 groups, the humans today have not replaced Neanderthals, but rather assimilated them into the gene pool. This test was done in Germany, where scientists extracted genetic blueprints from three bone fragments in Neanderthal woman whom were found in a cave in Croatia. The scientists compared these DNA to modern people's DNA and discovered that European and Asian ancestry carry Neanderthal DNA. Many researchers were surprised of this finding as no one could possibly think that our people today could be related to a species that existed hundreds of thousands of years ago. 

Discussion:

I myself was surprised at the fact that there are people with Neanderthal DNA living upon us. I chose this article because I thought it would be interesting to see who we are related to and evoluted from. I didn't know what my family origins were, with the exceptions of recent generations, until this article explained that people are and could be related to this species that are extinct for over 650,000 years. It further interests me as technically the Neanderthals are not extinct, but in fact living upon us. This explains the evolution of life and because the Neanderthals are similar and related to us, then their way of life might of been similar to ours today, the only factor being technology. 

Questions:

Two questions came to me after reading the article:

If we are related to this species that existed thousands of years ago, are there more species that existed long before the Neanderthals that scientists have yet to discover that we are related to them too?

Because our society today is so infused with technology, how would the Neanderthals way of life be different with none of this technology?
These questions may motivate me to do further research on this topic as I am very interested on the topic of ancestry and would be interested to do additional research

Resources:

Picture: Gaurde, M. Human Evolution. 29 Dec. 2009. Wikimedia Commons. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 

     Sept. 2010. <http://www.google.com/ 
     imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/ 
     Human_evolution_scheme_(2).jpg&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ 
     File:Human_evolution_scheme_(2).jpg&usg=__UjViwl_fjrgrQpNbvCOCOCHmSBk=&h=713&w=13 
     54&sz=77&hl=en&start=90&sig2=ltX0EUgTdA7J1pb7NtsxIQ&zoom=1&tbnid=ZQ09TiDbQoU7HM:& 
     tbnh=88&tbnw=168&ei=9gWcTJf7LpH6swO8mfzTCA&prev=/ 
     images%3Fq%3Dhuman%2Bevolution%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D7 
     30%26tbs%3Disch:10,1703&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=202&vpy=493&dur=32&hovh=163&hovw= 
     310&tx=212&ty=142&oei=7QWcTKefLojAsAOQp-mXDA&esq=4&page=4&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:17 
     ,s:90&biw=1440&bih=730>.

Article: Saey, Tina Hasman. "Modern people carry around Neandertal DNA, genome reveals."
     Science Reference Center. Science News, 5 June 2010. Web. 14 Sept. 2010.
     <http://puffin.harker.org:2092/ehost/
     detail?vid=4&hid=111&sid=6eed37e8-fea5-4c5a-b1f3-fddff982e3a6%40sessionmgr113&bda
     ta=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=sch&AN=51229609>.