Fall 2007
In this Issue:
Focus On Biomaterials
Features:
Engineering the Brain
Steven Schiff and Bruce Gluckman are among those who would like to find new and better ways to relieve some of the multitudinous problems that arise when the brain malfunctions.
A Materials Answer to Deadly Blood Clots
Penn State professor and researcher Chris Siedlecki works at the interface where the surface of devices meets the human body, and in particular where artificial materials contact the blood supply.
Charting the Incredible Complexity of Cells
Cells are good examples of nature’s ability to build complex machinery at the micro and nanoscale. In fact, it is only recently that researchers have begun to get a glimpse into the mechanisms that control the complex interactions of cells with the outside world.
Creating Systems the Mimic Nature
“Ultimately, we want to mimic biology’s ability to do things,” says Mary Beth Williams, associate professor of chemistry, about the work that won her the 2007 Young Investigator Award from The Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry.
Welcome to our biomaterials issue of Focus on Materials. In this issue you will read about the many ways the materials and life sciences are working together to gather new understandings of the incredibly complex systems within our body, systems that have evolved over vast scales of time, space, and organization. The physical principles that govern these multi-scale phenomena are common to the life, computational, engineering, and social sciences and provide the bridge for solving global problems in healthcare.
Therapy vs. Enhancement: The Ethics of Neural Engineering
What are the risks and what are the benefits of placing electrodes into the brain? Where does therapy stop and enhancement begin? Given the expense of neural engineering, how are the costs and benefits of neurosurgery shared by society?
Treating Chronic Disease with Ultrasound
Most of us know someone who is living with diabetes. In the U.S. alone there are nearly 21 million diabetics, and as many as 177 million worldwide. Diabetes is often called an epidemic, the fastest growing major disease in the world. Not only is it widespread, it is also expensive. One of every seven healthcare dollars in the U.S. is spent on diabetes care.
The Penn State Institute for Diabetes and Obesity
What began as an informal collaboration of diabetes focused researchers at the University Park and Hershey campuses five years ago has grown into a virtual institute, with some 70 researchers engaged in every aspect of the struggle to improve the lives of those suffering from diabetes.
