New Bionic Hand in Action!

I knew that artificial limbs were really taking great (excuse the pun) strides, however I had never seen this hand in action. The quickness and range of motion is truly amazing. Check out the short video of it in action.

The Bionic Eyelid's Time Is Nigh

Yes, it would appear that the bionic man or the proper android is being built one small piece at a time. Explain you might ask... ok, case in point:

• This from a recent article in IO9
• Researchers at the University of California at Davis Medical Center have been working on an artificial eyelid muscle.....
• Electronic impulses coming from a tiny battery driving an artificial muscle would allow stroke victims and others to restore their blinking.

Medgadget article

First fully self contained artificial heart to be ready in 2.5 years

Developers are approximately two and a half years away from human trials of the first truly artificial human heart. The heart is made from chemically treated animal tissues, which allows the body to accept it rather than rejecting it as has been an issue with past artificial hearts. Another advantage is that the new heart will be fully implantable. The artificial heart is even shaped like a real heart, with the same blood flow inside and outside the heart. What is truly remarkable about this heart is that unlike most devices installed to day which are meant as a "bridge" until a donor heart is available, this unit is meant to be the a totally artificial permanent heart replacement.

<- MailOnline via Dvice ->

Artificial Blood now considered a deadly idea

Wow, talk about a blow to our vision of the collective future. You remember the forecast that in the near future there would be no need for blood donations or if you needed blood for an operation, well they would just have some artificial blood already? Well it would seem that those days are farther off than we thought, and might be a lot closer to impossible than we thought. What initially
seemed so promising, being universally compatible and had a three-year shelf life (unrefrigerated), has instead proved to be possibly fatal, with a 30% increase in mortality. The performance has been so dismal that An editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association has called for a halt to trials. That's pretty damning criticism.

<- wiki article ->

First Artificial DNA Molecule Built

Chemists in Japan report development of the world's first DNA molecule made almost entirely of artificial parts. Clearing the way for nano-sized computers and gene therapy. The researchers used high-tech DNA synthesis equipment to sequence four entirely artificial bases inside the sugar-based framework of a DNA molecule. The result? A very stable structure resembling natural DNA.

Ahhh but I am not buying the "gene therapy" line for one second. And as for nano computers? Well what about the nano wires that can store 3 bits of information? That pretty much obsoletes the nano/dna logic path if I am not correct. I know I must be treading into the paranoid fringe here but I see a Dr. Moreauish second class life-form looming. This kind of tech is going to be drawn to money like moths to flame.

<Complete Science Daily Article>

Synthetic life closer!

A US team reports in Science magazine how it built the entire DNA code of a common bacterium in the laboratory using blocks of genetic material. The group hopes eventually to use engineered genomes to make organisms that can produce clean fuels and take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Some researchers have expressed ethical concerns. These critics are calling for a debate on the risks of creating "artificial life" in a test tube. But Dr Hamilton Smith, who was part of the Science study, said the team regarded its lab-made genome - a laboratory copy of the DNA used by the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium - as a step towards synthetic, rather than artificial, life. Dr. Smith has said "We like to distinguish synthetic life from artificial life." With synthetic life, we're re-designing the cell chromosomes; we're not creating a whole new artificial life system."

Thanks to Shaun Sauders for the post from BBC News

I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer

Shaun sends in this from the Guardian Unlimited science website

Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth. This will herald a giant leap forward in the development of designer genomes. It is certain to provoke heated debate about the ethics of creating new species and could unlock the door to new energy sources and techniques to combat global warming. A team assembled by Venter, has already constructed a synthetic chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code. It is then transplanted into a living bacterial cell and in the final stage of the process it is expected to take control of the cell and in effect become a new life form.

Scientists create 'plastic' blood

BBC news reports that Scientists have developed an artificial plastic blood which could act as a substitute in emergencies. Researchers at Sheffield University say that the artificial blood is light to carry, does not need to be kept cool and can be kept for longer. The new blood is made up of plastic molecules that have an iron atom at their core, like haemoglobin, that can carry oxygen through the body.