bioengineering

Bundles of microelectrode wires fan out over a small area of a human brain. These electrodes were placed by neurosurgeons at the University of Utah to see if they could detect precise brain activity associated with motor movements. To their surprise, the hair’s-width microelectrodes, originally designed to study epilepsy, picked up the firings of small groups of neurons despite being merely set on the surface of the brain.

Implantable electronics like pacemakers are old hat, but these kinds of implants are limited by the fact that they must be encased to protect them from the body, and vice versa. But in the quest to make our bodies ever more bionic, researchers have now developed implantable silicon-silk electronics that almost dissolve completely inside the body, leaving behind nanocircuitry that could be used for improved electrical interfaces for nervous system tissues or photonic tattoos that display blood-sugar readouts on the skin’s surface.

They say only time heals a broken heart, but Duke University researchers think they can do better. Using embryonic stem cells from mice and their own novel molding technique, a team of researchers at Duke has developed a three-dimensional heart cell “patch” that conducts electrical impulses and contracts, two all important characteristics of heart tissue.

Faith in the U.S. economy is dwindling these days, but a number of future-focused scientists and engineers say we shouldn't give up hope, since technology could resuscitate our flagging business world.