Posted 07.23.2012 at 11:59 am
5 Comments
Medusoid Jellyfish
Caltech and Harvard University
Despite being one of the most alien-looking things on Earth, the mechanism jellyfish use to swim is similar in some ways to the beating human heart. That inspired researchers to build a sort of cyborg jellyfish from the ground up, using heart muscle cells from a rat and silicone polymer. And it's actually only a little more odd-looking than a regular jelly.
The heart cells harvested from the rat were grown onto the silicone. When an electric current is sent through the water, the jellyfish--named "Medusoid"--contracts in a way that mimics a heart. The technique could eventually lead to scientists creating bio-engineered systems for humans, such as a pacemaker that works without batteries. The jellyfish could also make a good vessel for testing heart drugs before they're used on humans.
The next step, researchers told the Wall Street Journal, is to make the jellyfish even more autonomous by creating one that can find nutrients on its own.
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"..The next step, researchers told the Wall Street Journal, is to make the jellyfish even more autonomous by creating one that can find nutrients on its own..."
Great, we taught to eat, we just forgot to tell it to stop eating and now the planet is over run with 'FAT eating everything jelly fish',.....arg!
*gasp!* jelly fission
Do not give this thing a TASER... PLEASE!!!!
We'd be SCREWED!!!!
Funny fact, did ya'll know that TASER stands for Timothy A. Swift Electronic Rifle? It was based on a Sci-Fi comic.
Cool, but it seems like you're saying this thing lacks automaticity, since a current must be sent through the water from an outside source. Or is it because the water solution lacks the ions necessary for depolarization? Would it have automaticity in the correct ion-rich solution?
It would be awesome if we could combine these with plant chemistry, and base their energy on chlorophyll, maybe even find a way to allow them to swim through the air.
Nice one, Ardent, but how about a constant motion battery? Like an alternator on a car, the more it moves, the more it can recharge, in combination with the bio-battery concept.