One of the greatest impediments to significantly extending human life is disease. Scientists believe that by eliminating ailments like cancer and heart disease, we'll soon be able to live well past 120. In fact, futurist Ray Kurzweil expects that by 2026, we'll be adding about a year to life for each year that passes. What are the medical advancements paving the way to this future? Well, they all have one thing in common: they're tiny! Take a look at a few of the tiny new advancements in the medical world that are making big waves:
Bioprinting
Due to the serious buzz around 3D printing, most people have already heard of it. What they might not know is how extensive the technology becomes when applied to medical science. It is believed that not only will doctors and scientists one day be able to print entire organs, but they will also be able to print pharmaceuticals and food. No matter what the future holds, we're starting small: printing single cells.
Doctors are already conducting experiments which allow them to 3D print bone, cartilage, various tissues, and the aforementioned organs. Japanese facilities have constructed their own bioprinter in order to print all of the above simply by combining stem cells with synthetic materials. One important aspect of the research revolves around increasing the number of organs available for transplant--and these organs aren't likely to be rejected.
According to Professor Tsuyoshi Takato of the University of Tokyo Hospital, scientists analyze CT scans from specific patients to mold form-fitting implants that won't cause any damage once inside the body. The new tissue is replicated using cells from the patient, which means the body is more likely to accept the new organ.
Lab-Grown Muscle
Bioprinting isn't the only way to build human tissue. One important breakthrough has been made by the researchers working at Duke University. They've managed to create the first artificial muscle grown in a lab, a task which also occurs on the cellular level. Before this was accomplished, new pharmaceutical drugs needed to go through vigorous trials. First animals, then humans. Now, neither animals nor humans need to be subjected to the risks of new drugs.
This is because researchers have already used the lab-grown muscle to mirror the tests performed on live patients. The research will also allow doctors to create more personalized treatments by studying the effects of drugs tested on a sick individual, rather than medicine's typical shotgun approach of creating the most beneficial treatment for the greatest number of people within society. They hope that starting at a smaller level and helping individuals will be more effective.
Nanobot Payloads
Nanobots aren't living cells, but they're about the same size. They're tiny, microscopic machines that can be used to perform a specific function. The first self-propelled nanobot payloads have already been successfully tested in animal trials, and trials for humans are on the way. Some scientists believe nanotechnology treatments will be commonplace by the mid-2020s.
Researchers working out of the University of California at San Diego dissected the remains of a mouse injected with nanobot medicine, and decided there were no ill effects from the treatment. The treatment itself involved programming the bots to guide and embed themselves within the stomach lining. After that, they would release medicine while dissolving over 12 hours.
Optogenetics
This field of science holds perhaps the most far-reaching promise in medicine, and so few of us have even heard its name. According to professionals at Microscope.com who specialize in dissecting microscopes, some genes are sensitive to photons--in other words, they're stimulated by light. Photons don't exactly have size, as they operate on wavelengths. They can range from very thin and small, to very long and wide. We only see the latter. Optogenetics relies on the former, using targeted photon distribution to manipulate the neurons within our brains into behaving differently.
Because we're able to do this, scientists and neurobiologists can use optogenetics to map the human brain. It isn't until we hit these neural pathways with photons that we know what their purpose is. Researchers have even found ways of inducing sleep in animal subjects or weaning mice off of cocaine addictions. Unfortunately, optogenetics is considered a form of gene therapy, which is still dangerous to implement medically. One day, this therapy might allow us to flip the switch on certain genes, bypassing them entirely or adding new ones. That could mean an end to genetic diseases!
These minuscule advancements could lead to the achievement of functional immortality one day soon, a long-time dream of many modern-day scientists. Though they are small, these inventions and developments are leading to huge strides in the medical world, and causing big buzz.
