Lung Cancer has been on the rise in the last two decades. More and more smokers are developing and dying from this disease. Once diagnosed, the patient's only hope is Chemotherapy."To start with, not all patients respond to a course of chemotherapy in exactly the same way. And then there's the fact that the systems drug companies use to test new medications leave a lot to be desired"(Walles 1). Even animal testing is not a reliable source, 75% of drugs that are effective at treating lung cancer in animals don't work on humans. Scientists at the University of Wurstburg have developed another option for the survival of the diagnosed, a Artificial Lung. It was built on the concepts of the regular lungs, and is the size of a sugar cube. They use this artificial lung to test new drugs, so animals, which give skewed results, are no longer needed. Since it is similar to a Human's lung drugs can be more accurately tested to see if they will be effective in stopping the horrible disease, Lung Cancer.
NOS Theme: Science is collaborative: Multiple scientists have been working for years to develop the Artificial Lung.
Article: http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2014/05/29/artificial_lung_the_size_of_a_sugar_cube.html
Wow this would be a great break through in the science world. I was excited to read that these lungs will help give better results to scientists who are looking to stop lung disease. I hope that the new type of testing will better be able to save lives. I did some further research, and I found that scientists hope to stimulate 3D tests that will make the lung testing more realistic.
ReplyDeleteI feel that we are becoming a greater society to live in with all the medical and technological advancements. To me, this was a very creative of the scientists to create a lung prototype to simulate the effects of cures for lung cancer. Also, there are possibilities for other prototypes to simulate other diseases, too.
ReplyDelete