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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Special Delivery DNA"
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SPECIAL DELIVERY... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES IN MEDICINE IS TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER AND CONTROL THE RELEASE OF MEDICATION INSIDE THE BODY. YOU COULD SHRINK THE MEDICAL TEAM DOWN TO MAKE THE VOYAGE IN A TINY SUBMARINE, LIKE IN THE OLD MOVIE. OR, IN THE REAL WORLD, YOU COULD USE A "HYDRO-GEL"--A TIMED-RELEASE DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR DRUGS AND OTHER BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS THAT'S MADE OF LONG-CHAIN MOLECULES THAT ARE CROSS-LINKED TO CREATE SMALL, EMPTY SPACES THAT ABSORB LIQUIDS LIKE A SPONGE. THOSE SPACES CAN BE FILLED WITH A DRUG THAT CAN GRADUALLY BE RELEASED, OVER TIME, AS THE "HYDRO-GEL" STRUCTURE BIO-DEGRADES. CORNELL RESEARCHERS HAVE DEVELOPED A NEW "HYDRO-GEL" THAT, UNLIKE CURRENT GELS, REQUIRES NO HARSH CHEMICALS OR HIGH TEMPERATURES TO MAKE IT. BECAUSE IT IS COMPLETELY CREATED FROM SYNTHETIC D-N-A, IT SHOULDN'T TRIGGER AN IMMUNE RESPONSE; SO, THIS SPECIAL DELIVERY PAYLOAD CAN EVEN INCLUDE LIVE MAMMALIAN CELLS. FOR BIOMEDICAL DELIVERY, IT SURE BEATS A TINY SUB. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
