Squid Protein Could Make Better Prosthetics

Getting living tissues and electronic materials like those in prosthetics and implants to play nice is anything but easy, for a whole number of reasons. But there is a very simple one you may not have considered: electronics send signals via negatively charged electrons, whereas many communications carried out in living tissues take place through the movement of positively-charged particles such as calcium and potassium ions. But scientists have discovered a protein found in an animal called the common pencil squid that conducts protons, as described by Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News:

The fact that it is a biologic material and flexible means that it may be better than existing materials for integrating into the human body, and with a lower chance of being rejected, the researchers (from the University of California, Irvine) said. And since it is a protein, it could be modified in other desirable ways, such as possibly being able to biodegrade after it is down serving a useful purpose, which could help avoid dangerous surgeries.

[Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News / Nature Chemistry]