#bioengineering
Was staring at a piece of infrastructure, pondering on the strangeness that, as sturdy as it was, it required maintenance and eventually replacement. That everything was like this – except for biological constructs that could perpetuate themselves. But they mutate. So – what if we could build everything out of biology? Our sinks and bridges become immortal – yet destined to become eerie, shifted, unrecognizable things within thousands of years.
this is an out-of-context journal entry you find discarded in an abandoned science lab in a horror game
okay but like…what kinds of selective pressures affect bridges
University of Connecticut bioengineers have used piezoelectric biodegradable nanofiber tissue scaffold technology to successfully regrow cartilage directly in a rabbit’s knee, an achievement that could represent a promising hop toward healing joints and treating disorders such as osteoarthritis, in humans.
The team, headed by UConn bioengineer Thanh Nguyen, PhD, implanted a biodegradable piezoelectric poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) nanofiber tissue scaffold into the knee of rabbits with major cartilage defects. The polymer effectively acts as a battery-less electrical stimulator, which generates a tiny burst of electric current when subjected to force—for example, when the rabbit walked or hopped. This charge promoted cell colonization and growth into the cartilage of the test animals. Encouragingly, rabbits treated using the piezoelectric scaffold implant in combination with 1–2 months of treadmill exercise demonstrated completely healed cartilage.
For such future is worth to keep our fingers crossed!
Blue-Eyed Me by Alexey Marfin
Fantastic seven-minute nearfuture scifi about technology lifecycles, their impact on socio-technological systems respectively customer interactions and hidden pacesetting infrastructures & industries.
This is the world of the 99-cent lifeform. Like a social media profile or an online shopping list tailored to our hobbies, we collect genetically modified pets, engineered to look like their owners.
Alexey is part of the Unknown Fields Division run by Liam Young and Kate Davies. A “a nomadic design research studio that ventures out on expeditions to the ends of the earth to bear witness to alternative worlds, alien landscapes, industrial ecologies and precarious wilderness.”
[read more at the creators project][Unknown Fields][Alexey Marfin] [film still by Alexey Marfin]
MeetKirstene Gultian, biomedical and chemical engineer
1) What do you do?
I am a doctoral research fellow at Rowan University in New Jersey, USA with focus is on Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering. In my research, I develop hydrogel-based materials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, particularly for bone regeneration, and guiding stem cell differentiation and behavior.
I am also a licensed chemical engineer. Having a background in chemical engineering is an advantage in biomedical engineering as I get to apply many chemical engineering concepts in my work.
2) Where do you work?
Rowan awarded me a full scholarship, so I mostly do research at the university. I also collaborate with institutions such as the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (Camden, NJ) and the New York Stem Cell Foundation (New York, NY) to work on some awesome research!
3) Tell us about the photos!
[Left:]My hobby is traveling! I did not realize this until I came to America (haha!). My recent travels were to Washington DC and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. I also get a lot of free trips for conferences - grad school perks!
[Right:]Doing a research demonstration for senior students at Glassboro High School (NJ). Here, I photocrosslinked a few hydrogels and talked about my research on bone regeneration and stem cells. I purposely made hydrogels that were safe for the students to touch. They found it cool and said, “feels like jello!”
4) Tell us about your academic career path so far.
- Elementary: Sto. Nino SPED Center in Tacloban City, Leyte. I wasn’t an outstanding student in elementary. I was always loud, and I didn’t study much.
- High school: Philippine Science High School Main Campus in Diliman, Quezon City. It was my very first time in Manila, and the first time I was away from family. I had no idea that culture shock could get so real.
- College: the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City. I graduated in 2017 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. College was fun, but I was more of an “at-home” person. Most of my high school friends were also in UP Diliman, so it almost felt like I was still in Pisay (Phil. Sci.).
- Graduate school: Started my Ph.D. journey at Rowan University in 2018. I blended well pretty quickly, which is pretty surprising.
5) Anything else you’d like to share
Biomedical engineering is almost non-existent in the Philippines. However, it is a field that I believe will impact Filipinos’ lives. I hope that one day I can bring this field to the Philippines and share my experience and knowledge of the field to my fellow Filipinos. I am sure that with the grit of Filipinos, contributing meaningful research to the area will be a breeze!
Post link
*comes out of grave to offer cyborg bois*
The one on the left is Felix Feengarden or in short FeFe. The one on the right is Tiny Bigs (a placeholder name that is starting to grow on me).
Went to the Woodkid concert in Vilnius with a friend and this whole story started developing in my head.
Basically: an institute 3D prints artificial humans wich it then releases into the world with one purpose. But there has been a malfunction and these two forgot their mission completely. They just start living as normal humans until the institute catches on that they are not doing their job.
They eventually find out that their human memories are false and are supposedly reconditioned by the institute. In the process their human bodies are exchanged with cybernetic bodies (Pic one). But they maintain their distinctive personalities and eventually escape together.
When they realise that they can’t go back to their normal lives they sneak on board of an institute spacecraft which is heading to an asteroid mining colony. Using hijacked institute technology they modify their bodies to fit their own needs and goals (second pic). After which they lead a rebellion of space miners against the institute. After successfuly taking down the extraterrestrial sector they then return to earth to fully dismantle the institute and free its other creations.
