Implantable Science by LASA Ezine

Implantable Science

Spring 2013 Issue 1

Prosthetics Power Read about recent advancments in prosthetics and about a localâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience with his prosthetic.

Pg. 9

GMOs: Another View - Pg. 14 GMOs can be both good and bad

Gene Therapy: A New Hope - Pg. 20 How gene therapy can be used to treat Leukemia

The Computer Within - Pg. 25 Learn about how neural implants will work

Need a prosthetic? Give Bullow a call.

FEATURE STORIES

Prosthetic Power

Overview

Table of Contents Prosthetics have greatly advanced recently, but should you be able to sign up for them? A look at what this new idea means for people everywhere.

Another View of GMOs

Recently genetically modified food has been getting a bad rap. With reward higher than risks, GM Food should be rethought of by both the media and public.

OTHER STORIES

7 Gene Therapy Gene therapy has been in the news a lot recently, so many people may be wondering how it works. Read this article to see the tools and procedures used.

14 Microscopic Wonders Nanobots are small robots that scientists put inside of people to do certain tasks, like delivering medicine to certain cells. Read this article to learn more about these miniature robots. 3

Some Scratch from the Scientists

Not all of us started out with a vast knowledge of biotechnology. Not all of us had a large interest in biotechnology either.

But as time passed we started to learn more about the subject, while also developing an interest in it. We have developed opinions on what is going on in the world of biotech, and we care about what is happening to them now.

Our mission of informing others about the recent developments in the field of biotechnology means more to us than most

know. In a way, we are contributing to the world of science through this magazine. This team has spent a large amount of time working and gathering (previously unknown) information on various topics to fulfill our mission. And in fulfilling that mission we created Implantable Science. As a word from all of us, we hope you enjoy it, and maybe even learn something along the way.

X Kyle Searles

X 4

Hank Comer

X Michael Martinez

Cooper Goff

The Contributors Cooper R. Goff

Michael E. Martinez

After studying a variety of subjects, Cooper became intent

Michael is 15 and goes to church in San Antonio with

on becoming a software engineer for Google or Siemens.

his family. He is in the LBJ band and plans on going to

His interest in computing power and the value of

school and continuing his education (hopefully at UT).

programming has led him to an interest of prosthetics. He

Michael wrote the prosthetics feature as well as the story

is well versed in a variety of scientific subjects including

about disease treatments. He learned about gene therapy

astronomy, biotechnology, and astrophysics. Though

and prosthetics while working on this magazine, one of

interested in science, he is also a philosopher and a poet,

which he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care about (gene therapy). Aside from this

with which he is equally facinated.

magazine, Michael is a person of few words. He knows a lot of words; he just doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use them. Such is life.

Hank R. Comer

Kyle A. Searles

Hank is 15, takes German, is very interested in gene

Kyle is 14. He enjoys reading and playing video games. He

therapy as a medical tool and often browses Wikipedia for

plays fetch and runs with his dog Tawni,. He also bikes

entertainment. He also enjoys “Team Fortress Two” and

everyday when he gets home for around 1.5 miles. He

“Minecraft”. He is an aspiring programmer and enjoys

will also race go-karts at K1 whenever he doesn’t have any

science fiction. He owns an aquarium with two fish in

homework. He is very interested in any field of math or

it, and a guinea pig named Guppy. He wrote the articles

science but is particularly interested in biotechnology. He

about gene therapy. He once unlocked a filing cabinet

wants to study about implants and design them when he

using a hammer and has a large collection of plants that

graduates. He has written everything about implants in

have been grown from food scraps, including a small

this magazine.

pineapple tree, and an avocado sapling.

The Components and Tools of Gene Therapy

Story by: Hank Comer

ATCGATCGAT

CGATC

CGAT

CGT AC GT AC GA T

CGTAC G

T AC

Viral vector the genetic material is

inserted into a virus that infects the tissue to be modified. The virus must be one that inserts its contents into the hostâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genome. Sometimes other vectors are used.

In Vivo gene therapy (in life) is

when the viral vector is injected into the organism in large quantities, inserting its contents into existing tissue. It is useful for tissue that is not replaced over time, or is part of a fixed structure (e.g. the brain, or eyes). With this method, the vector may be intercepted by the immune system.

CG AT CG AT

GT AC GT AC GT AC GT AC C GTA

AT ATCG CG TA CG

GA TCGA TCG AT C

TC G

CGA TC

T A CGTA

ATGCTA

TC GA

new genes to be inserted into an organism, to change something about it.

AT CG AT CG AT GC AT CG

Modified genetic material is the

The things that it can do are

unique in the medical field. Gene therapy is capable of treating the cause of congenital disorders, instead of treating the symptoms like pharmaceuticals or machines. For example, if someone lacks the gene for an enzyme essential for clotting, gene therapy can be used to alter their tissue to contain that gene. This comes with a cost, however.

The things that can go wrong are

also unique. There is little control over where the new genes are inserted into the genome. It is possible that the vector will insert its contents into another gene, splitting it in two. The new genetic material can also be unaligned to the rest of the genome, potentially causing frameshift errors. Usually, the messed up cell will kill itself, but if the error is in a tumor suppressor gene the the insertion will cause cancer. This can be avoided by using the Ex Vivo technique, so that the cells can be surveyed. Another thing that may happen is the viral vector might be too small for the genetic material. [1]

Ex Vivo gene therapy (outside life) is when the viral vector infects cells

taken from the organismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body, which are then cultured and re-inserted. The cells eventually replace old non-modified tissue with modified tissue. With this method, the modified cells can be monitored to ensure that the genes were inserted correctly and have the correct properties. It is only useful for tissues that regenerate over time, such as skin, muscle or the immune system.

Gene therapy is a medical procedure that involves changing someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genetics to solve a health problem. It can cure or mitigate genetic disorders. It is still a relatively new field, but is very promising.

The genetic material to be inserted is cut out of its source using Zinc Finger Nucleases, which are artificially made enzymes that cut DNA at very specific sites.

The genetic material that has been cut out is then assembled using DNA Ligase, an enzyme that attaches segments of DNA to each other.

Works cited: [1] http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/genetherapy/gttools/ Pictures on 2nd page: Thomas Splettstoesser Lower image on 2nd page: Tom Ellenberger

Prosthetic Power

Story by: Michael Martinez

It was 41 years ago when 20-year-old Manolo Romero last worked in construction.

“There was an accident with one of the electricity power cables,” Romero said. “It came flying towards me and I was jolted by 125,000 volts of electricity which entered through my arm and leg and burned a great part of my body.” Romero’s left leg and left arm needed to be amputated, and he has had to live with a prosthetic leg ever since. Romero, now 61, isn’t alone in this situation. According to a study led by Kathryn Ziegler-Graham, PhD, from the Department of Mathematics at St. Olaf ’s College, an estimated 1.757 million people had an amputation in 2010. This number will only grow larger, and prosthetics need to follow the example. According to inMotion magazine, prosthetics have not changed very much throughout history, or at least not until recently. It was 424 BCE when the Greek historian Herodotus discovered the first artificial limb, a leg made of wood, from an prisoner who escaped by cutting off his foot. Prosthetics were made from very basic materials at the time, such as leather, wood, and metal. These prosthetics only served to allow people to walk and appear as normal people, and were never intended for movement. Two thousand years passed until stories about prosthetics that functioned for more than appearance purposes arose. However, it was not until after World War II that advancements truly began in the field of prosthetics. In 1960, Russia created the first moving hand, and in the late 1960’s myo-electricity (caused by muscle contractions) was used in prosthetics. In the 1990’s a microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee became available, greatly raising the standards of prosthetics. According to a Tech Talk from Morgen Peck, it was June 2012 when scientists began the process of creating

Manolo Romero, a double amputee, has one prosthesis for his leg. He is actively involved with his church, and is married with five children. Photograph taken by Michael Martinez

prosthetics that are more advanced than ever thought before by tapping into the brain and spine. The fluids from these body parts will command the prosthetic on what to do.

While this is a big step forward in prosthetics, not many people know about it. Despite all of the advancements made in prosthetics, some people only know that there are different shapes 9

“I can walk with my prosthetic leg. When my children were younger I could play with them and help take care of them. I would not be able to feel independent without my leg. I can make a life for myself that is, more or less, normal.” ---Manolo Romero and models of prosthetics. Others have not even heard about prosthetics powered by the body. Romero, however, sees prosthetics that allow movement as quite advanced already. “Sometimes I think it was easier for me to walk on my old wooden leg,” Romero said. “Those were very sturdy and made it easier to balance myself. The new ones allow movement and take some getting used to because they are more flexible.” But these new prosthetics aren’t perfect. Some prosthetics need constant care and cleaning, while some can’t even go near certain environments. “Most definitely, I have to clean it daily because of the perspiration they cause,” Romero said. “Throughout the (over) 40 years I have had a prosthetic I have had to change it many times, usually about every five years.” Most amputations in America, according to the National Limb Loss Information Center, are attributed to dysvascular disease. Dysvascular disease, a disease related to a dysfunctional blood supply, is most commonly related to Diabetes (which explains why it causes so many amputations in America). According to the American

Diabetes Association, 25.8 million people (8.3 percent of the total population) in the United States had diabetes in 2011. Of lower-limb amputations not caused by traumatic events, more than 60 percent were caused by diabetes. With 1.9 million new cases of diabetes each year, and no-known cure, disease-related amputations will only become more common. Prosthetics will only become more important as time passes, and as more people need prosthetics, they will need ones higher quality. Prosthetics are now more advanced than ever before, and most people have no idea just how they function now. Although many people need prosthetics, and will need to know about them, some people don’t need to know everything about them. Even Romero, who is missing an arm, does not completely know about how they work. This is largely because he does not even have a prosthetic arm, and hasn’t for 41 years. “At first, after the accident, I had a prosthetic arm,” Romero said. “But, in my daily life, I had learned to do things that were necessary with my one healthy arm, and it was much faster to just use my one arm then the prosthetic.... [The

Did You Know? Despite common view, prosthetic legs are not all just metal. Even Romero (as in the picture to the right) has a leg that looks surprisingly close to a normal leg. “Of course, my leg is all metal underneath,” Romero said. “When they first started to fit me for the prosthetic they left it all metal. But, after a few months, when they were sure it fit well, hooked on with ease and no more adjustments were needed, they covered up the metal with foam covered with a soft flesh-colored fabric.”

Not only was the prosthetic fleshcolored; it was also soft and cushiony. There were even wrinkles around the knees so the prosthetic could blend in even further to normal legs. This type of prosthetic is very convenient and new for Romero, and is much more advanced than previous prosthetics. “This is my eighth prosthetic,” Romero said, “and it lets me twist side to side because it has a ball-like joint. In the past, with other prosthetics, if I tried moving and twisting side to side the leg would stay still. Now I can move in ways I’ve never moved before.”

An Interview With Raina Rahman There is a disorder called Apotemnophilia that causes those affected to crave an amputation. However, because almost all doctors will deny people the right to needlessly have an amputation done, those affected by Apotemnophilia will willingly cause damage to their body. This damage is so bad that it requires an amputation. After the amputation most patients feel very happy with the result. What do you think about this? “I’ve gotta say that’s pretty weird,” Rahman said. “I agree with the doctors, they shouldn’t do needless amputations. But if they have a serious reason, then doctors should do it. I mean, it’s the patient’s choice in the end, isn’t it? What do you think should be done to stop people with Apotemnophilia from harming themselves, if anything? “Maybe have those people sit down and thoroughly talk about their feelings with a therapist, so they can fully understand why they want this done to them, and before they do any self harm,” said Rahman. “Make sure they know they can talk to people before they do anything rash.

A hole in the leg is the only evidence that Romero’s prosthetic is not a real body part. Photograph taken by Michael Martinez

Things to Know

A look at some things to know about diabetes and how they affect prosthetics

Causes of lower-extremity amputations in the U.S. Diabetes Prevalence in the U.S.

Prevalence of Diabetes in the U. S. (in millions)

2002 Diabetics

2011 Diabetics

The amount of diabetics in America correlates with the amount of American amputees.

Disease

Trauma

Congenital/Birth Defects

Tumors

Disease is (by far) the most common cause of lower-extremiy amputations now.

Data for this article is from the American Diabetes Association, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Rehabilitation Hospital of Philadelphia (MossRehab). prosthetic] was in the way, I kepy hitting things with it, bumping into things. It was an additional weight, and became more of a hindrance than a help....I didn’t want to have to deal with the uncomfortable feeling of having an arm with pinchers when I could just use my good arm instead.” This problem is one of the largest ones concerning prosthetics right now. Although prosthetics are now very advanced and can do more things than ever before, according to Romero, they can be uncomfortable and sometimes difficult to use. Prosthetics are, while becoming more advanced, sometimes difficult to maintain. Even though Romero chose not to have a prosthetic arm, some people can’t even afford prosthetics. According to an article on disabled-world.com by Rhonda Turner, PhD and the owner of The Prosthetic Center in Houston, Texas, prosthetic legs can cost anywhere from

$5,000 to $50,000, and a prosthetic arm can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000. Insurance companies charge greatly different rates for prosthetics, and classify them under different plans. Some amputees that are missing more than one limb can only afford to get one prosthetic. The cost of prosthetics is a complicated issue, as the cost of prosthetics depends on the state of the residual limb and the type of material needed for the prosthetic. Aside from costs, Turner sees more things coming to prosthetics in the future. According to an interview of Turner on oandp.com, computerization and awareness are on the rise in her field [Orthotics & Prosthetics]. “Though O&P is one of the oldest professions, it is still a very young industry because it is constantly reinventing itself,” Turner said. “I want to contribute to the O&P profession and help raise awareness in both public and political arenas.” Amputation change lives, but a

prosthetic can fix the damage. For many amputees, a prosthetic is the ticket back to normal life. “I can walk with my prosthetic leg,” Romero said. “When my children were younger I could play with them and help take care of them. I would not be able to feel independent without my leg. I can make a life for myself that is, more or less, normal.” Amputees are living all over the world, and there are new ones every day. Prosthetics help people, and the advancements they make only improve conditions. “There is always a necessary time period of adjusting physically and mentally,” Romero said, “but it’s always been worth the effort and the trouble because I get to enjoy the improvements. And of course, anything that is better, I will accept.”

Robotic Restoration Story by: Cooper Goff

Iron Man Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Far Away. Prosthetics have come a long way in the last 20 years. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come from metal sticks and semi-flexible joints, sometimes even wood, to mind-controlled limbs thought only possible in science fiction. Not only will this new technology give mobility and sense to patients without these luxuries, but it give us a great insight on how the brain works and how we can get this chemical computer to interact with the electric one. So far the most effective scanning and interpreting technique is targeted muscle reinnervation. So lets take a look at this new concept. In short, Targeted Muscle Reinnervation uses material that is already present. The motivating idea is that amputation does not entirely eliminate the nerves in the limb, and that the brain still sends signals to the amputated limbs, whether or not they are still present to receive those signals. There are three major nerves that can be used to this purpose: The ulnar nerve, radial nerve, and median nerve. The median nerve is attached to the medial biceps in the chest, leaving the lateral biceps to provide brain signals for the ability to flex the elbow. The radial nerve is attached to the triceps for elbow extension. The different nerves are moved to these muscles because they can act as wires for the electrical signals sent from the brain. These signals would be sent to a microprocessor in the shoulder in the arm, which would interpret them. Then it would turn a motor accordingly. The same way we can send signals to move an arm, we can also use this same computing technology to make them do less practical, but still useful, things. For example: it could send a signal to make your coffee machine have you a cappuccino made. Or what about turning on the TV? We could even use this technology to do research, find files, and type. The point is that we can have these arms, or other attachments, do things only seen or thought of in science fiction. Take a look at how the prosthetic arm works, and break down the uses for each individual tool within the arm. 12

1) The motor moves the arm to preform the functions that the processor, and through that, you, command it to do. It is actually a fairly generic motor, at least in the elbow. In the fingers, the motors are more complex, since they have to be designed to recieve the unique signals sent out by the processor.

2) In contrast to earlier methods, Targeted Muscle Reinnervation uses the nerves that are still present in the amputeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residual limb instead of electrons to recieve the primary brain signal. The nerves are relocated to muscles in the chest (in the case of an arm amputation or loss) and electrodes attached and extended from the primary nerves and send the brain signals to the central processor.

3) This is the microprocessor that computes the signals and movements that correspond to the thought. This is the center of the processes that make prosthetics technological miracles. Coded to read chemical signals, these microchips read your brain signals, andcan interpret them to make the arm move. This is the center of processes that could be used for mind-reading tech that could be used for everyday life.

Photo Credit: The Epoch Times 2006-9-17-bionicwoman.jpg; Biological Sciences ÂŤ Science in the News; JAMA Network - JAMA - Targeted Muscle Reinnervation for Real-time Myoelectric Control of Multifunction Artificial Arms

By: Cooper Goff How do you take a crop of corn, or some plants of soy from dying in a drought, or maybe suffering from, a disease that make the crop worthless? You make it genetically modified. “They are huge advancements in human technology, and the perfect way to keep a hungry world fed. It makes crops easier to farm and harder to die, making them very preferable to all farmers, first and third world. ” GM Food advocate and freelance

Gmos: Another View writer Keith Kloor said. He’s not wrong. According to Conversations About Plant Biotechnology, a biotech information website respected by many scientists worldwide, 8.25 million farmers (90% of whom live in developing countries) choose to plant biotech crops. Twenty-five Nobel Prize winners and 3,400 prominent scientists have expressed their support for the advantages of genetically modified foods and crops, and

“Take the irish potato famine in the 19th century: an entire people’s livelihoods were destroyed because of one disease. So, 200 years later, we don’t want anything similar to occur, and pesticides can’t kill a bacterial disease, so we boost the immune system of the plants. No famine.” that 63 countries are conducting plant biotech research across 57 different crops. According to the CSA, a scientific group for food testing and certification, one advantage of GM food is pest resistance and disease resistance, both of which can be staggering and could

cause huge crop loss. There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases, such as rice blast, tobacco mosaic, and nematodes. Plant biologists are working to create plants with genetically-engineered resistance to these diseases.

A gene gun in use. (Courtesey of wikimedia.org) “Take the irish potato famine in the 19th century: an entire people’s livelihoods were destroyed because of one disease. So, 200 years later, we don’t want anything similar to occur, and pesticides can’t kill a bacterial disease, so we boost the immune system of the plants. No famine.”

Kloor said. The process of modifying the genome of a plant involves a device popularly dubbed “The Gene Gun”, which fires a tungsten particle coated in the desired gene into a cell of the target plant, and once the cell begins expressing the trait of

the injected gene, the cell is put back into the plant and the plant is tested for safety and then bred with other plants to make an entire crop from the plant. The most popularly used traits are used for water bred with other plants to make an entire crop from the plant. The most popularly

By The Numbers Farmland Usage in 3rd World Most Commonly Inserted Countries

Traits

Conventional GM Farmland Farmland

38% 62%

In less wealthy countries, there is often drought and disease, and both of htese result in crop failure. To combat this, the UN ad local governments buy GM seeds in mass to help prevent starvation. This r3esults in increases in GM usage in the 3rd world. Debate over the safety of gm food is intense due to their dependancy.

Disease Resistance

22%

Pest Resistance

15%

Herbicide Resistance

63%

The most commonly inserted trait to GM crop is the ability to resist herbicide. Following behind is Disease resistance and pest resistance. GM food is almost always engineered to make the plant hardier without disturbing the other valued traits. Novelty items like the grapple (apple with the taste of grape) or the fish tomato are short lived and rare. 15

used traits are used for water storage in the plant, for drought, and resistance to certain diseases. The injected gene can come from plants, animals, and other crops. Yet GM Food is still not yet perfect. There are disadvantages to them, and these disadvantages and risks have been highly criticized in the media. One major argument is that Genetically modified foods could develop unexpected genes: essentially a biological glitch. Microscopic analysis of the livers of mice fed Roundup Ready soybeans (a GM brand of soy sold by genetic engineering corporation Monsanto) revealed altered gene expression and structural and functional changes. Many of these changes reversed after the mice diet was switched to non-GM soy, indicating that GM soy was the culprit. The findings, according to molecular geneticist Michael Antoniou, PhD, “are not random and must reflect some ‘insult’ on the liver by the GM soy.”Antoniou, who does human gene long-term consequences of the GM soy diet are not known, it “could lead to liver damage and consequently general toxemia. While malfunctions

such as this occur, GM food has been a hit in 3rd world countries for the traits of resilience that they can have, such as drought, disease, and pest resistance. Sometimes, even nutrients can be added to food without much: “GMOs could help the people get more nutrients in their diets. Right now their crops, mainly rice, contains few nutrients and therefore the people’s health is at risk. Putting GMOs into their food can put more nutrition into their food and therefore cause the people to live a healthier life.” said Kirstie Ballard, a genetic engineer working at DuPont Inc., a manufacturer of GM crops and seeds. This is why GM crops have been so popular in 3rd world countries, because their resilience and potential for increased health shows promise for the future of 3rd world agriculture, and makes it less difficult for subsistence, and even small-scale commercial, farmers to make a living. “...but there could be harm to other organisms who happen across the GMO plants. Some GMOs target insects and other creatures that harm the plant but when harmless creatures come across

the GMOs and they get it in their system then they can die too. People do not like the fact that innocent creatures can die from these GMOs. People are also wary that insects could become resistant adapted to

the GMOs and then the GMOs would no longer be effective and they would have to be updated” Ballard warns. “Although, considering the benefits Genetic modification brings, the reward outweighs

the risk.” She adds. So, in conclusion, GM food can be as much a benefit as a risk. While it may kill insects or risk glitch, it makes plants hardier for the use of farmers, subsistance and commercial.

FEATURE STORIES

Gene Therapy & Cancer

In-Depth

Table of Contents Gene therapy was recently used to cure leukemia. Read this article and find out just how effective it really is.

Neuorological Implants

Implants are starting to come into phase and have huge importance. Read this article and learn what implants are going to become.

OTHER STORIES

22 The Working Cures The public will soon have access to gene therapy, and it will compete with other treatments. A look into how gene therapy compares to other treatments.

29 Robotic Restoration Prosthetic limbs have come very far in the last 20 years. Now brain-controlled miracles of science, the same tech that moves them can now augment our daily lives.

Gene therapy is currently available to the public only through clinical trials. What will become of this new method of curing diseases, and what will be better for you to use the next time you get sick: gene therapy, medicine or surgery?

Story by: Michael Martinez

MEDICINE

SURGERY

GENE THERAPY

Surgery is a way of curing diseases, and is generally used in more serious cases. It can be very costly to have surgery done, and it doesn’t work all of the time. There is still a chance that the surgery can kill you.

Gene therapy is a new method of curing disease, but is currently available only in clinical trials. This new treatment goes inside the cells to fight sickness, giving it great potential for curing diseases. However, According to Michael Schrage of the Los Angeles Times, it is likely that gene therapy will be very costly.

Introduction

Medicine is the most common thing used to cure sickness. It is not very costly and typically works; however, medicine is really only useful on little things. As diseases become more serious, medicines become less effective.

Minor Sickness Being under the weather doesn’t take much to fix. There are medicines made for specific sicknesses; however, medicines take different amounts of time to work. The main effect of medicine is the absence of symptoms, and that is all that is needed.

Surgery is not a good treatment choice. It is risky and can be very costly (in more ways than one). However, the cost of surgery is less than the estimated cost of gene therapy, making it a more reasonable choice (than gene therapy).

Sources:

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-08/business/fi-5652_1_human-gene-therapy http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy?show=all http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/Factsheet/Genetics/fs6.TSgenes.cfm http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6121/768 http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/medicine/genetherapy.shtml http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cancer-surgery/CA00033 http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/16/cold.flu.myths/index.html http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/10278.php

Gene therapy is the worst method of the three. According to Science magazine, there are many possible cells in the body for operation. So unless the minor sickness becomes a major sickness, gene therapy isn’t worth the risk of a mistake.

Art Made By Michael Martinez

MEDICINE

Antibiotics are a good treatment choice. According to Medical News Today, antibiotics are meant to cure bacterial infections. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t typically cost much to buy antibiotics, but they can cause some undesired side-effects.

SURGERY

GENE THERAPY

Surgery is fine, but only in certain situations. If there is damage to the body, surgery would be useful. Otherwise, surgery is not a necessary (or reasonable) treatment.

Gene therapy is not a good choice for this type of sickness. It is not meant to be used on bacterial diseases, so gene therapy might not even be accessible for this type of disease.

Bacterial Disease

Viral Disease A deadly virus wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be cured by simple medicines. Medicines can only relieve symptoms of minor viruses. According to CNN, a common cold lasts about seven days, and medicine can only (temporarily) relieve the symptoms.

Surgery can really help with a virus, potentially getting rid of the disease altogether. However, surgery will really be a candidate only if there is some kind of problem that requires a surgical operation.

Gene therapy is the best choice of treatment for a virus. A virus works by breaking cells, so gene therapy works great against viral disease. The virus will be fixed inside the genes and will actually save the body from the virus.

Cancer When cancer strikes, using medicine will only waste money. According to Cornell University, it will take more than medicine to get rid of cancer (wherever it is), as the cancer will just continue to grow larger and larger.

If cancer surgery is successful, it will keep the cancer away. However, cancer surgery can result in the removal of organs. According to the Mayo Clinic, most cancer surgeries require the removal of both cancerous cells and healthy cells.

For More Information On Gene Therapy Go To Page 7

Gene therapy is very expensive, but it will actually target the cancerous cell(s) and get rid of them. According to Science magazine, this treatment can (sometimes) require the changing of only a single nucleotide.

Gene Therapy: A New Hope Story by: Hank Comer

MAKE MORE HIV

USE CART19 TO FIND AND KILL CELLS

nucleus

U O FI

L L C E LL

C ART1

SE 9T

I ND AN D K

This recently developed process has killed leukemia much faster and safer than current treatments. A leukemia diagnosis used to be a death sentence, or at least very risky. However, that is changing. In the past, leukemia treatment required chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants. Hair loss, fatigue, nausea, bleeding gums/nose, diarrhea, graft-vs-host disease, persistent vomiting and high fever are side effects of those treatments. A new treatment involving gene therapy has a higher success rate, and the worst case scenario only has a few of the symptoms of the old treatment. “This is an exciting new therapy,” Regina Young, a research assistant at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine said. According to a New York Times article entitled An Immune System Trained to Kill Cancer, doctors have been able to modify a patient’s immune system to attack cancer using a type of treatment called gene therapy. This allows the destruction of

cells that carry a certain marker, and the subsequent recovery. Gene therapy is a little-explored treatment, and hasn’t attracted much attention until recently, now that its unique capabilities and applications have been shown. However, there are also downsides to gene therapy. “Each patient is treated with their own modified T cells and this presents unique manufacturing challenges compared to drug development,” Regina Young said. Downsides can include kidney damage and cytokine storms (often compared to a severe case of flu). According to an interview conducted by a New York Times reporter named Denise Grady, these are due to the speed at which the cancer cells are killed, which causes large amounts of cellular debris and signalling molecules to be released in a process known as a cytokine storm. It is difficult to predict how bad these can be, but currently they are mostly survivable.

The cells are modified using a specially modified HIV, which normally infects white blood cells and injects its genetic material. The modified virus contains different genetic material, that programs the white blood cells to kill cancer instead of making more viruses. A new batch of cells has to be made for each patient, because the cells have to be from their existing immune system. “[The modified T-cells] attacks normal B-cells as well as leukemic cells.” Young said. Due to the nature of the modification, the T-cells cannot tell the difference between healthy B-cells and the cancer, so the patient would need periodic immunoglobulin injections. So far, no long term issues besides this one have been found. The receptor that the T-cells use to seek out B-cells is called Chimeric Antigen Receptor 19, or CART19. I

“This is an exciting new therapy.”

“There are several groups using CART19 modified patient T-cells to treat [Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia] and [Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia].” Regina Young said. The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is not the only group using this therapy. There is also the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center which is also working on the CART19 therapy. Leukemia is also not the only cancer being researched at these organizations. The faculty listing at the Pennsylvania School of Medicine includes a doctor named Steven Albeda working on a way to use T cells to kill lung cancer and cancerous fibroblasts. According to www.cancer.org, treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia typically lasts 2 years with the currently used therapies. With the gene therapy, a recovery in as little as 8 days is possible. As stated previously, only a few of the symptoms of the old treatments exist in the new treatment. A symptom that can occur in both treatments is tumor lysis syndrome. Tumor lysis syndrome happens whenever a large amount of cells die in a short period of time. Due to how fast the gene therapy works, tumor lysis syndrome is all but unavoidable. The reason that the gene therapy avoids many of the side effects that the conventional therapies involve is that the gene therapy kills B-cells and leukemia instead of rapidly dividing cells, which is what chemotherapy does. Rapidly dividing cells are found in the lining of the mouth and intestine, in the parts of bone marrow that makes red blood cells and in

Vincristine, a drug frequently used to treat leukemia as part of gene therapy, inhibits mitosis.

A Chimeric Antigen Receptor, the molecule that allows T-cells to seek out and identify cells that carry a corresponding molecule.

Bone marrow being harvested for transplantation, which must come from a suitable donor or the patient.

hair follicles. According to www.cancer. gov, chemotherapy works by inhibiting cell replication which means that any tissues that rely on fast cellular replication will be damaged regardless of whether the tissue is cancer or not. This is why chemotherapy patients often lose their hair. The only tissue targeted by the altered T-cells is B-cells, so the therapy will not result in the wasting and hair loss often seen with chemotherapy. The modified T-cells also kill any new cells with the marker they are programmed

to target, so there is little chance of remission, as stated in An Immune System Trained to Kill Cancer. Another conventional technique used in treating leukemia is a bone marrow transplant. For this to be done the original bone marrow must be destroyed, after which a patient may go for weeks without bone marrow which can lead to severe infections. Because the T-cells used for the gene therapy come from the patient there is no risk of them being rejected, unlike a bone marrow transplant which can be.

Although it is important remember that the therapy is still trial, it is a significant step forward the treatment of leukemia, and cancer general.

to in in in

Microscopic Wonders Story by: Kyle Searles

Nanobots are interesting devices, and they don’t have to be mechanical. Many people think nanobots are mechanical devices that go inside of the body and help fix a problem, but that isn’t totally correct. That assumption isn’t correct because nanobots can be made out of cells, as well as inorganic materials. Scientists recently made a ½ organic ½ inorganic nanobot out of rat heart cells and gold.

1 Micro camera: This little camera is what the bloodswimming nanobot uses to navigate throught the blood vessels. The camera might also be used to identify whether the cell is where the nanobot needs to delever it’s payload.

2 Payload: This is where the medicne/antibiotics are stored. The antibiotics will be delevered to whatever cell must be targeted (i.e. cancer cell). The payload is important because it is needed to treat diseases.

3 Capacitor: This is what the nanobot’s power source will be. A capacitor is like a small battery, but while a battery produces electrons from chemical energy, capacitors store the electrons.

4 Swimming tail: This is an option for a source of locomotion for the nanobot. The swimming tails reproduce the concept of flagella (what bacterium use as locomotion). There are also other possible ways of locomotion such as magnetic propulsion.

Digram of a microscopic, inorganic, blood swimming nanobot. It has all of its parts labeled. Image From: electronics.howstuffworks.com

Summary of the inorganic nanobot: This nanobot has a huge purpose in the medical field. What the nanobot will be able to do is deliver medicne treatments to specific cells (i.e. cancer cells). This has potential because chemotherapy is deadly to both cancer cells and good cells. This nanobot could then deliver the chemotherapy drugs to specificly the cancer cells so they do not harm the good cells.

Rundown

Diagram of an organic, microscopic, bloodswimming nanobot com

From: bioengineersatwork.blogspot.

1 Frontal Leg: This is one of the front legs of the nanobot. The nanobot uses this set of legs as a form of locomotion, as well as the back legs.

2 Rear Leg: This is one of the back legs of the nanobot. The nanobot these set of legs as locomotion along with the front legs, moving at about 100 micrometres a second.

3 Skeleton: This is the overall nanobot skeleton. This is made out of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a material that is silicon based. The most important part about PDMS is that it is a very inert material.

4 Molds: These are the molds for the PDMS skeleton to be droped into. The molds will be filled with rat cells and when the PDMS sekelton is droped into the mold it will stay there until the rat cells have grown around the skeleton.

Summary of the organic nanobot: This nanobot has just as big a purpose in the medical field as the inorganic one. The difference is how the two nanobots go about accomplishing the task. While the inorganic one uses a capacitor to power itself, this organic nanobot uses rat cells. They both will accomplish the same task, in general, though because the inorganic nanobot is supposed to swim through the blood and deliver medicine to certain cells. While the organic nanobot is planned to used its front and back legs to crawl through the blood vessels at about 100 micrometers a second

According to www. popularmechanics.com, a UCLA team made the hybrid nanobot of 1/2 organic and 1/2 inorganic material out of heart cells and gold by using a technique that computer chip builders use. What the UCLA team did is make a very small golden arch covered in a special type of polymer and then they put living rat heart cells on the arch. After a while the cells completely enveloped the golden arch, broke the arch off of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s base, and started wobbling around. What the UCLA team did with this nanobot was create a device that is Â˝ living. This has many applications such as helping generate electricity for implants because all this microscopic wonder needs to run is ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate, what your cells use as power) and with its back and forth movement that could help produce electricity. According to news.ufl.edu, These little robots can also be inorganic, such as the particle that researchers at the University of Florida were able to create. This little particle is able to be programmed to know what gene it needs to inhibit protein production from. In a lab test, the particle was able to totally destroy a Hepatitis C infection. This little particle has many useful applications, one of them being inhibiting genes that produce proteins that cause disease. The real reason that the little particle is amazing though is the fact that it is so versatile due to the fact that it can be programmed to do certain things. The particle is theorized to be able to help combat viral infections, or diseases such as cancer.

Information from: electronics.howstuffworks.com bioengineersatwork.blogspot.com www.popularmechanics.com

news.ufl.edu

The Computer Within Story by: Kyle Searles

This is an ion-selective microelectrode that can be used to regulate neurons. It is able to inhibit the flow of ions between neurons and it can also stimulate the neurons. Image by: Yong Song

We will be able to put computers inside of humans within the next few decades, allowing people to solve extremely complex problems within their head in a matter of seconds. These computers will be able to directly interface with a person’s nervous system, creating what would be like a direct extension of the person’s nervous system. This type of power could come with a price though. The first thing that should be talked about is how this field has advanced within the past decade or so. When it comes to actual research and advancements in implant technology, the biotechnology research program Smart Sensors and Integrated Microsystems (SSIM), is working on developing a neuroprotective capsule to protect the implant. This is just one of the many new concepts that are starting to arise due to neural implants. Mohamad Sawan, an electrical engineering professor teaching at Ecole Polytechnique and ReSMiQ Quebec, said, scientists and doctors are now getting better with treating people with things such as drug delivery systems.

“It is [now] possible to record information from brain neurons using brain-computer interfaces. Also, treatment is progressing through both electrical stimulation and drug delivery.”

The next thing that needs to be thought of are the types of materials that the neural implants would be made of.. An example of these new materials is what SSIM is working on right now, according to SSIM, it’s called a neuroprotective capsule. The neuroprotective capsule is very important for a neurological implant to work because there are brain cells called glial cells that will eventually destroy the implant. According to the Wikipedia article about glial cells, These cells are in the brain, but their main purpose is not to create connections and send ions through those connections (thinking), like a neuron. The glial cells’ main purpose is to protect the neurons by insulating the neurons and by disabling/killing any foreign material (in this case the implant) within the brain. The glial cells do this by creating a capsule of tissue (also known as scar tissue) around the implant. This causes the implant to either break or for the data it is outputting to become inaccurate. This is why the neuroprotective capsule that SSIM is working on developing is so important for an implant to succeed. If the neuroprotective capsule could work it would allow for scientists to put implants inside of the brain without having to worry about the implant being broken/ removed by the scar tissue because the glial cells would ignore the implant. Sawan said that these implants would be made out of things such as bioelectronic devices.

“New dedicated microsystems based on bioelectronic devices (chips and other fluidic structures) [are the materials used for neurological implants].” The next problem that an implant faces is how it will receive its power. There are ways of delivering power to an implant without harvesting energy from the body, such as a wireless, external device. The problem with this is that the battery that the wireless device is recharging will eventually die and have to be replaced. Harvesting energy from the body on the other hand wouldn’t involve recharging a battery. According to Shirley Wang, a Wall Street Journalist, this is why scientists and researchers are working on harvesting energy from things like heart beats, sound, and body movement. Researchers from M.I.T and Harvard have been able to create a mechanism that is able to siphon energy from the inner ear of guinea pigs and power a device with that energy. Since the device needs very little power the guinea pig’s functions are not hindered in any way.

Where the Implant Will be Put

“They [scientists and researchers] are trying to be able to capture the extra energy that is produced from a certain function of the body, without taking away from that function of the body.” The next thing to think about is the objective of the implant. At SSIM they are working on a neurological implant that will send electrical impulses to the disabled tissue of a disabled person, causing it to contract and for the person to be able to regain function in that area. These implants can also be used to increase a person’s ability to solve complex problems. As Sawan said, people could be able to connect into computers with the implant to help them solve more complex problems, but the main purpose of the implant is to help disabled people. “[The] main purpose [of the implant] is to help address dysfunctions, but it can be used for connecting with databases for example, and then accelerate thinking and finding answers to complex questions.”

This is a picture of all the regions of the brain. The part labeled “m” is where the motor region of the brain is. This is the region which focuses on movement. Image from: expsychlab.com

The diagram of the brain shows all of the lobes that make up the entire brain. It also shows where the motor region of the brain is (it is labeled “m”). This is where scientists and researchers are looking to put the implant. They would put it under the dura mater (a protective layer of tissue around the entire brain) right in this area. This would be a good area to put the implant because the scientists and researchers are looking to help address physical dysfunction, so if they could fix this area of the brain then disabled people would be able to regain the functions that they have lost. 27

The Beauty of the Brain

Learn more about neuroscans at www.neurography.com