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Where will medicine be 20 years from now

In today’s technological age, it seems advancements in all fields leap forward by the day. Medical technology certainly hasn’t been left out of the loop, and some of the breakthroughs in modern medicine have been quite revolutionary and had a huge impact. But where will the field of medicine be in 20 years from now? What major advancements are waiting just around the next corner? In this article we will consider just two of the biggest technologies that are emerging over the horizon.

Electronic Implants

We have computers everywhere these days, but it’s not just the ones on our desks that we use to surf the net. We have computer chips in washing machines and just about all of our other appliances too. In the realm of science fiction (all too often a prediction of future science) we have seen technologically enhanced humans with superhuman abilities but what if those technologies were real and used for medical purposes?
Scientists have been working for years on implementing a special kind of microchip known as a “neuroprosthetic chip” that can be implanted into the brain. This chip helps to decipher signals in the brain when the brain itself cannot, and to trigger the appropriate responses. For example, the chip could help to control epileptic seizures, or help a patient suffering with paralysis to control prosthetic limbs with thought alone.

Stem Cell Research

One of the most talked about areas of medical technology today is stem cell research. With the first human trials currently taking place to determine the safety of human treatment, stem cell technology may not be too far away. The basis of stem cell therapy is regenerative: stem cells help the body to form new cells and generate tissue. If we can harness the power of stem cells for medical use, we may be able to cure paralysis, blindness, heart disease and diabetes, treat stroke patients and repair damaged organs and tissues, helping the body to regenerate and cure itself. Some people are even optimistic that stem cell research could lead to curing cancer!
Stem cell research has been the subject of much controversy. The needed stem cells are actually taken from embryos developed using IVF techniques as there are often surplus embryos and these are donated for scientific use. The stem cells gathered in this way are generic and have no predetermined cell type, which enables scientists to force the stem cells to become a specific, needed type of cell that can be injected into a patient in need of them. The embryos are only a few days old and about the size of a full stop (period), but there are many who think that stem cell research is just plain wrong; that it is “playing God” with an unborn child. This may all change as new research shed light on the ability to use adult stem cells, but only time will tell.

Nanomedicine

Nanotechnology, especially nanomedicine, are advancing significantly day by day. Nanoparticles are being already used in many products (mainly in cosmetics), but other spheres such as pharmaceutics and general medicine are slowly applying nanotechnology standards.
Nanomedicine, along with stem cells research, will probably change the way the world sees medicine. Many experts predict that it will change everything.

This was just a brief look at what the future of medicine may hold for us, but with these and many more exciting technologies rapidly emerging that future certainly looks bright.

Quick blood tests by using a nanodevice

Scientists from the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science have gotten an assignment to create a special technique to produce nanowires, which would make mass production possible. The final goal is to be able to perform quick blood tests without the need to go to a laboratory.

The British researchers are using the standards that are currently being used in making television displays. The need for quick blood tests, which could be done during surgery, are in demand and would help significantly. Peter Ashburn, the leading researcher, said: “Standard clinical laboratory tests have limitations outside the laboratory, which can reduce the diagnostic impact of new protein biomarkers for complex conditions like cancer and chronic inflammation,” said Professor Ashburn. “One-dimensional nanostructures such as nanowires are ideal for diagnosis as they can be integrated into microfluidic chips that provide a complete sensor system.”

The research is supposed to end within three years.

Fluorescent molecules can be biomarkers

Scientists from the Pennsylvania State University have found that a high amount of fluorescent molecules that naturally reside in human’s body can be used as biomarkers for cancer.

NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is an enzyme found in mitochondria. “Dysfunctional enzymes in the mitochondria are known to be associated with serious health problems such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases,” said Ahmed Heikal, one of the researchers. “By detecting the level of NADH and its distribution inside living cells, we should be able to monitor the mitochondrial activity and thus the integrity of any given cell, without adding potentially toxic dyes or actually destroying the cell.”

The main catch that scientists are working on is to be able to differentiate normal healthy cells from the “bad” cancer ones. Now, by using special techniques, they were able to make that happen.
“If we are given two live cells, one normal and the other cancerous, we could differentiate between the two with confidence,” said Heikal.

“Our method is not limited to detecting cancer. Other neurodegenerative diseases related to mitochondrial anomalies can also be detected with our method,” said Heikal. “We can also use our approach to quantify the efficiency of a new drug on manipulating the activities of mitochondrial enzymes associated with energy production in cells.”

Adopted from materials provided by psu.edu