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Bionic Prosthetics
How it is affecting medicine or our health: Allows people who have had to been amputated to be able to still live a normal active lifestyle. Also has big impact in technology and how we use it.
Who invented it: Douglas Bly created the first anatomical leg in 1858
What the invention does: Act as replacement for a lost limb a person may have lost in an accident. -
Nanomedicine
How it is affecting medicine or our health: Have been able to help solve cancer problems and be able to do tissue engineering to help repair damaged tissue.
Who invented it: Richard Feynman in 1959 using nanotechnology
What the invention does: Use nanotechnology to prevent and help cure diseases and use nano-robots to repair cells. -
Synthetic Cells
How it is affecting medicine/health: Have been used to replace red blood cells that are not able to as carry as much oxygen. Synthetic cells can’t fully replace red blood cells but can be used to substitute to help oxygen get through to the body.
Who invented it:Thomas Chang at McGill University in the 1960’s.
What the invention does: Act as a biological cell that can do certain functions and structures of a biological cells. Made up of synthetic polymersome or sometimes an artificial membrane. -
Elektra Axesse
How it is affecting medicine or our health: Has started to change radiation therapy used for patients and started improving upon it.
Who invented it: Lars Leksell founded Elektra 1972
What the invention does: Used to treat specific diseases in the head and body using radiation therapy. -
3D Printed Body Parts
How it is affecting medicine or our health: Can make transplants more easier instead having to find a perfect match it can be made in a lab.
Who invented it: Charles Hull in 1983 when he invented the stereolithography which is what’s used now.
What the invention does: Replaces body parts like bones, cartilage, and muscle to be implanted in someone that’s missing that specific part. -
Human Genome Project
How it is affecting medicine or our health: We can accurately diagnose a disease and figure out what certain genes do and know which ones are important to us.
Who invented it or discovered it: Francis Collins, U.S Department of Energy and National Institutes of Health
What the invention does: The Human Genome Project can provide a complete and accurate sequence of 3 billion DNA base pairs like Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine. -
HIV Cocktail
How it is affecting medicine or our health: Allows so a mutation of HIV isn’t created and passed down from another generation.
Who invented it:
What the invention does: Used to control and try treating HIV infection to the body which attacks the immune system. -
Stem Cells
The name of the invention:
How it is affecting medicine or our health: Can really change and possibly solve big health issues like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, Arthritis, and more. Learn how birth defects and cancer are caused.
Who invented it: James Thomason and Jeffery Jones at the University of Wisconsin in 1998
What the invention does: Stem cells can act as a repair system for the body allowing it to repair by making copies of themselves and develop into different kinds of cells. -
Artificial Liver
How it is affecting medicine or our health: Has started to really impact how we interact with bioengineering and advancements in that area.
Who invented it: Dr. Kenneth Matsumara in 2001
What the invention does: Serve a temporary liver until a transplant to a patient is made or allow the liver to recover from and damages taken. -
23 and me
How it is affecting medicine or our health: Allow us to test for genetic diseases like late onset Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and other various dangerous diseases.
Who invented it: Founded by Linda Avery, Paul Cusenza and Anne Wojcicki in 2006
What the invention does: 23 and Me let’s us learn about ourselves from just a swab of saliva. People can learn about their family, ancestry, genetics, and more.
