Lifeboat Foundation

Though it resembles a coral, root system, or some other kind of growth, the above photo actually depicts a six-inch-wide blood clot in the near-perfect form of the right bronchial tree of a human lung, the Atlantic reported on Thursday. Even more uncomfortable is the revelation that it was not removed by medical staff, but in fact coughed up by a patient who was suffering from heart failure.

The photo was released in late November as part of the New England Journal of Medicine’s Images in Clinical Medicine series. University of California at San Francisco doctors Gavitt A. Woodard and Georg M. Wieselthaler wrote that it came from their patient, a 36-year-old man who had long struggled with chronic heart failure. The patient reportedly had a medical history including “heart failure with an ejection fraction of 20%, bioprosthetic aortic-valve replacement for bicuspid aortic stenosis, endovascular stenting of an aortic aneurysm, and placement of a permanent pacemaker for complete heart block.” When the patient was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit, they hooked him up to a pump designed to help circulate blood throughout the body:

An Impella ventricular assist device was placed for management of acute heart failure, and a continuous heparin infusion was initiated for systemic anticoagulation. During the next week, the patient had episodes of small-volume hemoptysis, increasing respiratory distress, and increasing use of supplemental oxygen (up to 20 liters delivered through a high-flow nasal cannula). During an extreme bout of coughing, the patient spontaneously expectorated an intact cast of the right bronchial tree.

Continue reading “A Heart Failure Patient Actually Coughed Up This Blood Clot Shaped Like a Lung Passage” »

Check out these bionic technologies that equip people to do more and give a glimpse of our superhuman future.

Plastic is a resilient and versatile material, but it’s not that great for the environment — not plastic that’s made from petroleum, anyway. But scientists are cooking up a better alternative.

Chitin, like plastic, is resilient and versatile. Chitin is found in everything from lobster and shrimp shells, insect exoskeletons, and squid beaks. Thanks to a team of Canadian researchers it may soon be found in plastic, too.

Scientists at McGill University in Montreal have developed a process that allows them to process chitinous things into eco-friendly plastic. Associate Professor of Applied Chemistry Audrey Moores told the CBC “it remains biodegradeable, so if it goes in the environment it’s not going to pollute.”

Continue reading “Researchers Turn Lobster Shells Into Biodegradable Plastic” »

Ever since 2014, Italy-based Youbionic, which was founded by Federico Ciccarese and specializes in robotics and bionics, has been working on its 3D printed, robot-controlled, bionic prosthetic hand. The company started taking pre-orders for the bionic prosthetic two years ago, and has since been making improvements and updates to the original model, even coming out with a 3D printed double hand device for the augmented human. Now, Youbionic has released its latest bionic product – the Youbionic One.

Continue reading “Youbionic Combines 3D Printed Bionic Arms with SpotMini the Nightmare Robotic Dog” »

Not sure if this is real or still vaporware yet. But it IS inevitable. It’s not a matter of “if”, but “when”. And we’re most likely not going to be able to regulate it much, either. If an embryo or fetus is not a human, then parents have the right to do anything they want to it. You might think that this is going to result in eugenics, like erasing melanin genes and starting a race against the fictitious “white genocide”. You’re right. But if you think that’s as bad as it’ll get, think more creatively. What happens when poor parents get paid to implant “willing servility” genes into their unborn children, in order to pay bills. The future is now. Cyborgs will not destroy humanity, but humanity itself might. What kinds of rights can be written into law to prevent this kind of extortion, that won’t also grant fetal personhood and end up derailing abortion rights? It’s going to be a bumpy ride, folks, buckle up!

A Chinese researcher claims he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies — twin girls born this month, and with DNA he says he altered with a powerful new tool capable of rewriting the very blueprint of life.

If true, it would be a profound leap of science and ethics.

Continue reading “Many scientists denounce researcher claiming 1st gene-edited babies born in China” »

Bionic Vision Technologies, a firm based in Australia, has announced that its bionic eye system has been used to restore a “sense of sight” to four completely blind people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa. The findings from the study, which was performed at Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne, were presented at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists Scientific meeting.

Unlike previous studies of the technology that were limited to in-lab use, the four patients were able to use the system in their everyday environments.

Continue reading “Four Blind People Go Home With New Bionic Eyes” »

Jan Scheuermann was one of the first volunteers on DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics program and became a pioneer in the field of brain-machine interface, controlling first an advanced robotic arm, and then a simulated jet, with her mind alone. The New Yorker tells her story in exquisite detail, along with the story of Nathan Copeland, the volunteer who followed Jan in the research and put his own spin on how it unfolded.

A neuroscientist’s research into the mysteries of motion helps a paralyzed woman escape her body.

What are the values of religion in the 21st century? As we continue accelerating towards a new scientific and technological era, it shouldn’t be a surprise to find an increasing number of people adhering to secular values and skeptical critical thinking. But then religion persists. Interestingly, while newer religions are emerging, they’re subsequently accommodating this new era into their philosophical belief structure.

In this cyborg religion, being against science and technology is a sin! Then again, so is having sex and doing drugs. Bummer!

From bionic eyes to gene editing, how can we use science to bring back sight?

• By Everyday Einstein Sabrina Stierwalt on November 17, 2018