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Artificial Blood Vessels Grow On Nano-Template
Invisible Pink Unicorn writes "Researchers at MIT have found a way to induce cells to form parallel tube-like structures that could one day lead to tiny engineered blood vessels. The researchers found that they can control the cells' development by growing them on a surface with nano-scale patterning. The work focuses on vascular tissue, which includes capillaries, the tiniest blood vessels. The team has created a surface that can serve as a template to grow capillary tubes aligned in a specific direction. The cells, known as endothelial progenitor cells, not only elongate in the direction of the grooves, but also align themselves along the grooves. That results in a multicellular structure with defined edges — a band structure. Once the band structures form, the researchers apply a commonly used gel that induces cells to form three-dimensional tubes."
So will the anti-abortionists oppose this because the technology could potentially turn anything into a viable human?
Is it possible to have a tube that isn't three dimensional?
"That which does not kill us makes us stranger." -Trevor Goodchild
Just so you know, device biocompatibility (basically ensuring that the body won't freak out when you do something like input nanobots) has been a 50 year issue. There aren't many solutions - at best, current devices get encapsulated in fibrous tissue and attacked with random oxidative chemicals. Your nanobots are likely to get eaten by white blood cells and harmed within low pH peroxisomes.
Just a thought....