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bioengineering

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mad engineering

A Battery Made by Bioengineered Viruses

All viruses have an organic outer shell, but it turns out that with a little genetic tinkering they can be trained to produce an inorganic outer shell made of gold or cobalt oxide. Angela Belcher's lab at MIT has created an entire factory of trained viruses whose genes have been reprogrammed to grow battery ingredients. They're also growing ingredients for solar cells, as well as computer monitors and water-purification systems. More »

7:40 AM on Mon Feb 18 2008
By Annalee Newitz
1,335 views, 10 comments

mad science

Man Grows New Jawbone in His Stomach with Stem Cells

Today a man in Finland has a new jaw, thanks to specially-treated stem cells harvested from his fatty tissues and grown in his stomach. It's not the first time researchers have grown bones inside a stomach (we featured a picture of some bioengineered teeth grown in rats' stomachs), but it's the first successful surgery of this type with a human. A group of Finnish doctors today announced the transplant was successful and that nobody looking at the patient would be able to tell that he'd had the procedure done. More »

11:45 AM on Fri Feb 1 2008
By Annalee Newitz
2,965 views, 22 comments

Latest by n/a: Does it... does it work for organs? All I want for Christmas is a functional pancreas! more »

nanotech

March of the Spermbots

Spunk-seeking nanotechnology experts at Cornell say that sperm would make the perfect nanobots of the future. Robot sperm (pictured here in an artist's rendering) would deliver new DNA or other molecules to your body by scooting through your bloodstream using a tail powered by its own energy source. Find out why sperm are self-contained power-houses after the jump. More »

7:00 AM on Thu Dec 6 2007
By Annalee Newitz
214 views, Comment