Wingnut
Footballguy
Not recent news, but fascinating nonetheless.
Http://youtu.be/Vhuf6gDesH0
Biomimetics is a relatively new branch of science, and yet it has produced remarkable things such as the incredible gecko tape, a method to reignite plane engines, even velcro was once just a biomimetic pipe dream. Now scientists, in the wake of the first synthetic cell created by Craig Venter, have further advanced the field by developing a jellyfish-like organism created from a sheet of plastic and a single layer of heart cells cloned from developing rats.
The scientists discovered that the heart cells would contract when introduced to an electric current, so the synthetic organism is seen floating in a salt solution with electricity passed through it. The scientistsa joint team from Harvard and CalTechoriginally inserted the cells onto a rounded plastic disk which proved to be too structurally sound for so few heart cells to bend. Cutting slits in the sides of the disk allowed the scientists to produce the medusoid synthetic organism seen in the video. The organism can be seen swimming as a simple jellyfish would.
Http://youtu.be/Vhuf6gDesH0
Biomimetics is a relatively new branch of science, and yet it has produced remarkable things such as the incredible gecko tape, a method to reignite plane engines, even velcro was once just a biomimetic pipe dream. Now scientists, in the wake of the first synthetic cell created by Craig Venter, have further advanced the field by developing a jellyfish-like organism created from a sheet of plastic and a single layer of heart cells cloned from developing rats.
The scientists discovered that the heart cells would contract when introduced to an electric current, so the synthetic organism is seen floating in a salt solution with electricity passed through it. The scientistsa joint team from Harvard and CalTechoriginally inserted the cells onto a rounded plastic disk which proved to be too structurally sound for so few heart cells to bend. Cutting slits in the sides of the disk allowed the scientists to produce the medusoid synthetic organism seen in the video. The organism can be seen swimming as a simple jellyfish would.
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