Genetically engineered bio-hybrids blending nature and machine could change the future.
I live in Boston, and one of my favorite places to visit isThe New England Aquarium,but never during any of my trips to see the marine life did I think about creating a cyborg stingray made from the heart of a rat. But Harvard professor Kevin Kit Parker did.
Parker, an Army major who now directs a team at Harvard University's Disease Biophysics Group, created the translucent, penny-sized ray with a gold skeleton and silicone fins layered with the heart muscle cells of a rat. According to an article inPhys.org,cyborg stingray has been genetically-engineered to respond to a blinking blue light, which scientists use to control the ray’s body, causing it to gracefully swim like a real ray or skate.
The cyborg stingray research team, also led by researcher Sung-Jin Park, launched the project as a method for learning more about the human heart as scientists move toward the goal of building an artificial one. But the interdisciplinary project is also generating interest in other fields, from marine biology to robotics.
实际上，这只是Parker及其团队在“生物混杂”机器领域进行的许多项目之一，该机器由合成零件和活物质组成。他的大部分动机来自他在阿富汗的两次职责之旅。
Parker was profiled on 60 Minutes talking about how his team is working on new solutions for the worst problems of war. The solutions range from cuttlefish skin cells to create better camouflage to the use of a cotton candy machine to help build a better wound dressing.
Wow. Okay. I need to think a bit more when I go to the aquarium.
