Archive for the ‘Bioengineering’ Category

The photo gallery of evolution

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

sciences-images75September 20 is published by Xavier Barral / Natural History Museum, this magnificent book, Evolution. Preface by Jean-Pierre Gasc, texts are those of Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu and photographs of Patrick Gries. A return to images on the history of our era and the evolution of vertebrates.

sciences-images76An anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). South America, MNHN collection, length 1.67 m. The anteater is a mammal belonging to the lazy Pilosa order whose origins date back some 60 million years.

sciences-images77Opah (Lampris guttatus). To return to the early history of vertebrates, impossible to miss the fish.

sciences-images78Man, like all animals, is a vertebrate that can adapt and use to better their environment, as here with the example of the domestication of the horse. (Collection Museum of Natural History Toulouse).

sciences-images79Kiwi (Apteryx australis). Height 38 cm, the land of New Zealand MNHN.Oiseau able to fly with its rudimentary wings, now endangered.

sciences-images80Leopard (Panthera pardus) on a jumping Addax (Addax nasomaculatus).

sciences-images81Killer whale (Orcinus orca), World Ocean. Length 5.25 m. Monaco Oceanographic Museum Collection.

sciences-images82Male gorilla (Gorilla gorilla). Equatorial Africa. Height 1.35m MNHN collection.

sciences-images83Cheetah (Acynonyx jubatus). Saharan Africa, the Middle East. MNHN collection.

sciences-images84Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus). Africa. MNHN collection. This bird was sacred to the Egyptians who went so far as to mummify symbolize the god Thoth.

sciences-images85Left: Ass (Equus africanus). from Africa and domesticated. Museum Collection Fragonard.A right: Horse (Equus caballus). Originally from Asia, domesticated. MNHN collection.

sciences-images86Green turtle (Chelonia mydas). World Ocean. MNHN collection.

Mother Nature inspires Search

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

a131Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara taking a close look at squid and especially its horny beak. Consisting of chitin, this organ is extremely sharp and has a dual nature. It is both extremely hard but elastic. This duality could be used for medical and biotechnological progress.

Researchers would use this property to develop artificial limbs capable of members to be as resilient as cartilage and bone that too rigid. Moreover, the malleable material is very versatile and is able to adequately cover the tissue that is not the case of ceramic or metal used today.

a132What is the relationship between the marine worm slime and reconstruction of bone? This slime is like glue. The marine worm uses them to agglutinate any sand particles but also pieces of shells and other debris to build up its own shell.

For Russell Stewart, Biomolecular Engineering University of Utah (USA), the glue is non toxic, waterproof and is very fast. All the features needed to make synthetic bone glue. This has created a biodegradable and two times higher than that produced by the marine worm. A real step forward to pick up the pieces of bone. No need for pins!

a133The sea cucumber is a large maggot squirming painfully on the seabed. With a sleek chair, it has everything to be easy prey for predators. But no! His secret train? A network of ultrafine fiber cellulose into its skin. This system provides rigidity to the animal to prevent attacks but also flexibility and elasticity to move

The chemist Christoph Weder has developed a biopolymer imitating any point this fiber network. In contact with water, dissolve protein links and give flexibility to the material and vice versa when the water evaporates. This process could be used in the manufacture of brain electrodes to avoid any risk of damaging the fragile brain.

a134Snails surround their eggs with a thin trickle of drool and fashioning huge rosaries. They are sometimes found along the beach under the force of waves.

What intrigues the researchers is their strong resistance. The strong waves toss these little beaded necklaces at the risk of breaking, but without success!

This force is present in the protein binding in the viscous substance. They are very strong as featuring a triple helix. They provide a strong structure capable of storing large shocks. This deforms, stretches a maximum and then returns to its original position slowly when it reaches a limit.

a135In addition to their rows of teeth shredding of flesh, the white shark is provided with a skin extremely coarse and rough. Its uniqueness is that it prevents any animal or bacteria to cling; unlike the skin of whales which is a magnet for all hitchhikers in the area.

Scientists from the small startup Sharklet American Technologies have developed a coating that can prevent the growth of bacteria. How? They produce a film similar to shark skin white with raised grids forming diamonds. This coating could be used in hospitals to prevent bacterial growth therefore nosocomial infections. Only downside: the film does not kill bacteria.

a136Subject to strong waves, but also to changes in salinity and ferocious attacks by predators, mussels are extremely stoic agencies. They remain in place and not moving a shell. This inertia, they owe their foot composed of powerful protein, consisting of dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA). They are thus able to take root in any medium and remain there, including Teflon.

a137Who can believe that a parasitic fly may advance research on hearing aids? And yet, Ron Miles, an engineer at the University of Binghamton (USA) is developing a new generation of hearing aids based on the unique structure of the “ears” of Ormia ochracea. They can hear the chirping of a cricket host even if it is located several meters. His ear is composed of two ears separated by a membrane that amplifies sound, presternum.

a138The spider spins its web to better capture and devour its prey. This formidable weapon is unique. Its structure is composed of specific proteins that are assembled so as to give elasticity and unparalleled durability. It is three times stronger than Kevlar.

Many scientists have tried to imitate the single wire for use in industry, but also military medicine. Without success until today. A biomaterial near wire spider silk has been developed.

The defenders of the cell body

Friday, March 12th, 2010

a29White blood cells: defense experts
4 10 billion a liter of blood
Leukocytes or more commonly known as white blood cells are the strongest supporters of our organization. These cells are produced in our bone marrow, a tissue located in the heart of our bones. These cells mainly circulate in the bloodstream and lymph. Healthy people account for no less than 4 to 10 billion cells per liter of blood.

An infection was detected after a blood test and if their number increases significantly, it is a sign of infection: this is called leukocytosis.

Differentiation into several categories

Our agency has not developed a form of immune response but several. To meet this demand, white blood cells differentiate into several types of immune cells.

a30Experts from the phagocytosis
In white cells, three classes are distinguished: monocytes, lymphocytes and granulocytes.
The latter derive their name from the shape of the nucleus and is composed of several lobes suggesting to small grains.

Granylocytes Among these, there are neutrophils. It represents 65% of white blood cells. These neutrophils are produced by bone marrow and have a life span of a few days.

What is their role? They go to the scene of a inflammtion caused by bacteria. They are guided by chemotactic substances emitted by the reaction itself.

Once there, they proceed to phagocytosis. They literally swallowed foreign bodies and destroy them by lytic enzymes, proteins contained in the grains inside the neutrophils. Then all degenerates and is pus.

a311 to 3% of WBC
Besides neutrophil granulocytes are also made of eosinophils that represent 1 to 3% of white blood cells. These cells are involved mainly in the destruction of parasites.

They are synthesized in the bone marrow and released into the bloodstream. Like neutrophils, these cells can penetrate the tissue to reach the site of infection. Pathogens, namely by the parasites are then caught by eosinophils that there does not swallow, there is no phagocytosis itself. They stick it and release a basic protein, an enzyme that will completely destroy the parasite membrane and eventually lead to its destruction.

a32Several places of storage
White blood cells circulate in our body by the blood and lymph to go to meet the intruder, but they can also be stored in specific organs, lymphoid organs. The best known are the tonsils and lymph nodes in the throat, armpits and groin.

Faced with an infection, the number of white blood cells increases which increases the volume of these lymphoid organs. It is a symptom that shows the physician the presence of infection. Now you know why you feels these different places.

a33Cells responsible for humoral immunity
Lymphocytes are white blood cells responsible for a highly targeted immune response. Among these cells are differentiated B lymphocytes.
These cells are produced in quantity in the bone marrow and acquire maturity. They play a crucial role in humoral immunity, that is to say, the immune response contributing to the production of free antibodies in the blood and lymph.

Your body makes hundreds of thousands of B lymphocytes Among them, there are plasma cells that match the final stage of mature B cells These mature cells produce special molecules called antibodies. They leave in search of a protein produced by foreign cells, the antigen, and get to destroy it. Other B cells possess such antibodies or immunoglobulins directly at their membrane and interact directly with the ‘antigen.

a34Cells responsible for cell-mediated immunity
These lymphocytes are cells involved in immune response targeted. They will help fight against infection well defined. Unlike other white blood cells, T cells are produced by the thymus (hence the letter T), a lymphoid organ located in the lungs. These cells work in the immune response cell-mediated, everything happens by contact between cells.

As for B cells, several types of T cells at various stages of the immune response. The best known are the lymphocytes T4 and T8. LT4 allow the proliferation of B lymphocytes in fine antibodies; regarding LT8, they allow turning into cytotoxic T lymphocytes to destroy cancer cells or infected by a virus.

a35The HIV virus attacks the cells
Among all these different immune response pathways, it loses some our Latin. The only thing to remember is that it exists for each type of infection so pathogens, a type of cell to alert ready to act to destroy the intruder.
Still, our immune system is fragile and may become a victim of viruses much stronger than him and more particularly vicious in the image of HIV.
Rather than become stronger than all the immune cells it attacks the pillars of our weapons of defense, namely LT4 and LT8. Without them, most of B-cell proliferation therefore fewer antibodies and activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes that lyse infected cells. Therefore: the HIV virus has the space to grow slowly in the body.

immersion in the heart microbes

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

a132Microbe
This beautiful photograph, neutrophils (green), cells that defend the front line the body against intruders, engulf the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes. This mécanislme called phagocytosis. This bacterium is the cause of angina red.

a133Salmonella
Salmonella is responsible for many diseases including typhoid fever, which continues to wreak havoc in poor countries. The majority of these bacteria are found in foods and cause major digestive problems.

a134HIV
In this picture, HIV (red) is now sprouting on lymphocytes, cells of the protective agency. This virus is the cause of AIDS, a disease that destroys the human immune system.

a135Ebola
The Ebola virus is extremely virulent and attack both apes and humans. This virus is transmitted through bodily fluids and leads to destruction of the liver and kidneys. The patient died of massive bleeding.

a136Clostridium
This bacteria or bacilli (rod shaped) is found naturally in the intestinal flora of man. But when it is weakened, the bacteria grows and secretes two toxins responsible for acute diarrhea.

a137Tuberculosis
High fever, night sweats, persistent cough with expectoration of blood, here are the symptoms of tuberculosis, a disease caused by tubercle bacillus. The means of preventing infection is to get vaccinated is the famous BCG.

a138Anthrax
It caused panic in the U.S. just after September 11, 2001. The anthrax or anthrax is caused by Bacillus antracis a highly pathogenic bacteria and ultimately lethal. It attacks both skin, the respiratory or digestive

a139Legionellosis
The Legionella bacteria are naturally present in water. They are growing massively at temperatures between 25 and 42 ° C. Most pathogens produce, among those most vulnerable, severe pulmonary insufficiency, Legionnaires’ disease.

a140Influenza A
There is much talk about him now, the H1N1 virus responsible for a form of flu so virulent. there is another strain of influenza that, taken in time, causes the death of the patient.

a141MRSA
Staphylococcus aureus is the bacterium that is present in most hospitals and is responsible for many nosocomial infections. This bacterium is often resistant to antibiotics so difficult to eradicate.

a142E.coli
Escherichia coli is a bacteria present in the intestinal flora of man to allow digestion. It speaks of commensalism. This bacterium can grow abnormally and cause, among other things, gastro-enteritis and urinary tract infections.

a143Avian
Each winter, influenza virus is being talked about. It infects millions of French, it’s the flu, of course. Even today, this disease can be treated relatively well, it still kills nearly 2 000 people per year in France, especially the most vulnerable.

a144Measles
Parents fear it yet inescapable: the measles virus will hit your little darlings. The virion belongs to the family Paramyxoviridae which includes the mumps.

a145Streptococcus C
C streptococcus is not the family of the most virulent streptococci (there are seven in total). We can fight it with an injection of penicillin, a powerful antibiotic.

a146H5N1
Influenza A spear him, right now, but the star bird flu is still there. He is responsible for the decimation of many birds, the H5N1 virus. Transmission to humans can occur but also between men.

Brief History of Biomedical Engineering

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

image006Biomedical engineering is the application of the principles and techniques of engineering to the field of medicine. It is principally involved in the design and construction of medical devices and health technologies such as medical equipment, prosthetics, medical devices, diagnostic devices (medical imaging) and therapy. Also involved in the management or administration of technical resources related to a system of hospitals. Combining engineering expertise with medical needs to profit in the care of health. The cultivation of tissues is usually considered part of bioengineering and sometimes the production of certain drugs.

200px-silicone_gel-filled_breast_implantsAreas of knowledge:Biomedical engineering is widely recognized as a multidisciplinary field, resulting from a wide spectrum of disciplines that the influence from different fields and sources of information. Because of their extreme diversity, it is strange that bioengineering focus on one particular aspect. There are many different breakdowns of the engineering disciplines, often threshed in:
Biomagnetism and technical brain
Imaging and biomedical optics.
Biomaterials
Biomechanics and biotransporte
Medical Instrumentation
Engineering molecular and CELL
Systems biology

In other cases, disciplines within the biongenieria divided on the proximity to other fields of engineering more established, which can include:
Chemical engineering - often associated with engineering, biochemistry, cellular, molecular, new materials and fabrics, etc..
Clinical engineering - often associated with Engineering Medical or Engineering Hospital, administration and maintenance of medical equipment in a clinic or hospital.
Electronic engineering - often associated with bioelectricity, bioinstrumentation, imaging and medical instrumentation.
Mechanical engineering - often associated with biomechanics, biotransporte, and modeling of biological systems.
Optics and optical engineering - medical imaging, imaging and instrumentation.

200px-insulin_pump_with_infusion_setFields of action:In the beginning, this discipline was linked primarily to the application of techniques of engineering electrical and electronics for the construction of medical devices (medical instrumentation), and the design of prosthetics and orthotics (biomechanical and rehabilitation). Subsequently, a very important part of engineering applications to medicine was instrumentation for imaging the human body (medical imaging). With the development of computers, the importance of instrumentation was decreasing while the processing of acquired signals gained further momentum because it was possible to obtain additional information from the instrumentation signals provided, and that was not visible directly from the pure lines (biomedical signal processing). Today the discipline is linked also to others such as genomics and proteomics (computational biology).

medicalimagingHistory:Some authors indicate that there is biomedical engineering since the remedies applied to particular problems of the individual as a prosthesis of the big toe that was discovered in a tomb in Egypt with a length of more than 3000 years [citation needed]. Other authors refer to anatomical drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci and approaches to lever arms or the work of Luigi Galvani and Lord Kelvin on the electrical conduction in the living [citation needed]. However, the development of electric and electronic instrumentation was an explosion of results and can be considered as one of the closest sources of biomedical engineering. This is mainly between the years 1890 and 1930. Examples include designs for recording electrophysiological signals, beginning with records of AD Waller in human hearts (1887), refinement of the technique by W. Einthoven to develop a string galvanometer (1901) and applying this to record EEG signals in humans by Berger (1924). The electronic instrumentation from vacuum tubes were used by E. Lovett Garceau to amplify these electrical signals and the first commercial system three-channel EEG was built by Alfred Grass in 1935. Another example is the development of imaging instrumentation. Since the discovery of X-rays by Rontgen in 1895 to its first application in biomedicine spent a week. Since 1896, Siemens and General Electric already selling these systems. Currently, new developments in imaging have taken much longer to achieve its clinical application. The principle of magnetic resonance was discovered in 1946, but it was not until 30 years later, that may have developed a system for use in humans.