Topic: Living heart cells drive microfluid pump

[Nemesis]

Link to full article

The pump is made from a hollow sphere of flexible polymer with tubes connected to opposite sides. The sphere is coated with a sheet of cultured rat heart muscle cells and these cells drive the pump with pulsing contractions.

The pump has no need for a battery, just a ready supply of nutrients for the cells. The researchers say similar pumps could someday drive small amounts of fluid around chips for biological analysis or through medical implants that release drugs inside the human body

Metered insulin for diabetics?  Meds for mentally ill?  Anything that would benefit from a steady but slow flow.

Use their own heart cells and no need to worry about rejection?

[E_Look]

Sounds wonderfully promising!

I wonder if it can be modified so as, as you alluded, to use muscle cells from a recipent himself.  That would be great, but human cells are very touchy.

[Nemesis]

but human cells are very touchy.

Are they really that touchy or is it more a political issue?

[E_Look]

Hmmm... you have a point; it could be political.

But instead, what if we can sort of "graft" it into the recipient's body, make the nerves and muscle of the natural heart, the whole of which is now defective, grow onto and then operate the artificial one?  That might obviate any political issues.

[E_Look]

Also, this might be a way to give amputees better new limbs or those with damaged or diseased organs, an alternative besides finding an organ donor.

[Nemesis]

I recently read of researchers triggering the regeneration function in a "chick embryo" which grew back a removed wing and in mice which grew back tails and regnerated a severed spine.  That holds great potential for amputees.