Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Skin Cells Genetically Modified To Fight Infection
Genetically modified skin cells added to cultured skin substitutes may fight potentially lethal infections in patients with severe burns.
(Genetically modified skin cell may protect from infection)
Dorothy Supp, PhD, and her team discovered that skin cells genetically altered to produce higher levels of human beta defensin (HBD4 - a protein) killed more bacteria than ordinary skin cells. She remarks
“If we can add these genetically modified cells to bioengineered skin substitutes, it would provide an important defense system boost during the initial grafting period, when the skin is most susceptible to infection."In a three-year study, Supp isolated the HBD4 gene from donated tissue samples, and transferred it to surface skin cells to enhance the skin's infection-fighting abilities. The test cells were then infected with a type of bacteria commonly found in hospitals and allowed to incubate. Analysis demonstrated that the genetically altered cells with HBD4 were more resistant to microbial infection.
(Researcher Dorothy Supp looks for better ways to control burn infections)
Dr. Supp is a University of Cincinnati (UC) faculty member and researcher at Cincinnati Shriners Hospital for Children. She believes that defensins could become an effective alternative method for burn care and infection control.
This research is being announced in the January issue of the Journal of Burn Care and Research.
The use of cultured skin substitutes for patients with large-scale burns has been in use since the 1980's. Patients with burns covering large areas of their bodies are especially prone to serious infections, often resulting in death.
Cultured skin substitutes are actually grown apart from the patient in the laboratory, using cells from the patient's own skin to guard against rejection by the body. The cells multiply and are combined with a collagen matrix consisting of a spongy sheet and gel. The resulting "skin" is grafted directly onto the patient.
Science fiction writers have used the idea of artificial skin since the 1970's. Frank Herbert used the idea in his 1977 novel The Dosadi Experiment, calling it uniflesh. John Varley expanded on the concept in 1984, combining the idea of a skin substitute with a data screen - creating the idea of readout skin:
I'm the only report I know who still uses his handwriter except to take notes… I snapped the fingers of my left hand… Three rows of four colored dots appeared on the heel of my left hand. By pressing the dots in different combinations with my fingertips I was able to write the story in shorthand, and watch the loops and lines scrawl themselves on a strip of readout skin on my wrist...
(Read more about Varley's readout skin)
If you are interested in futuristic forms of skin substitutes, read on:
- Dattoos Personal Skinprint Technology Concept
Dattoos, DNA-based tattoos, may one day create seamless connectivity. - Robot Skin Soft Like Yours
If you hate being touched by your robot because of its cold metallic skin, take heart.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/9/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
The Autonomous Robotic Urethral Catheter - Would You Use It?
'It'll snake its way in on its own.'
OrganEx Revives The Organs In Dead Pig
'Wakened into half-life activity one hour a month...' - Philip K. Dick, 1969.
Prototype 3D Printer Could Print Arteries In Seconds
'... in the tank the new body and the new mind and memory and life has taken almost instant form.' - Clifford Simak, 1963.
NextSense Earbuds Spy On Your Brain
'Your cephalochromoscope that cost you nine hundred dollars... colors and ceph patterns...' - Philip K. Dick, 1977.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
San Francisco Wants ED-209, Or Maybe Robocop
'The Enforcement Droid series 209 is a self-sufficient law enforcement robot...'
Seoul Self-Driving 42dot Bus Unveiled
'Buses without drivers moved close to the curb and stopped at intervals.'
T. Gondii And The Leaders Of The Pack
'... infected males were more than 46 times more likely to become pack leaders than uninfected males.'
'Parastronaut' First Astronaut With Disability From ESA (Updated!)
'He had left Earth to get away from its gravitational field...'
MIT Self-Assembling Reprogrammable Materials
'Faster the cubes moved; faster the circle revolved; the pyramids raised themselves, stood bolt upright on their square bases...'
Mem, The All Your Memories, Super Note-Taking App
'Life experience is linearly additive, but the correlation of memory impressions is an unlimited expansion.'
Porcine Fat Cells For 3D-Printed Whole Pork Products
'I grabbed two Syntho-Steaks out of the freezer...'
LANIUS Loitering Drone Munition Scouts And Maps
'... micro-missiles proceeding at walking pace.'
Copilot Software AI Training Sued By Involuntary Contributors
'...we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
Thin Film Dome Protects Cities From Nuclear Blasts
'What fabric can take that kind of a load? Synthetic spider silk.'
Mars Space Weather Alert (MSWA) System
'On the three-dimensional map at weather headquarters... the storm was colored orange.'
Thermite's Robot Firefighter
Possibly worthy of Transformers!
Fabrican Dress Sprayed Directly Onto Model On Coperni Runway
'...that might appeal to women, because by discharging from a few or a few dozen bottles a liquid that immediately set into fabrics... they could have a new creation every time.'
Israel Deploys Sharp Shooter AI-powered Robot Guns
'They lock onto the target... and do the actual shooting once the target is identified.'
Drone Loiter Munitions Now Available
'...a series of airborne loiter-drones posted on indefinite guard above.'
Amazon Blimp Parent Drone Concept
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
