Bioengineers Build Artificial Jellyfish from Rat Cells
July 27, 2012| |
Bioengineers from Harvard University in Cambridge used synthetic biology to reverse-engineer an artificial jellyfish using silicone and rat's heart muscle. The artificial jellyfish, called as medusoid, appears like a flower with eight petals and when placed in water with an electric field, it swims a similar manner like that of a real jellyfish.
Kit Parker, the leader of the research team, have been working on artificial models of human heart tissues to test regeneration of organs and testing drugs. They formed the medusoid to test their understanding of fundamental laws of muscular pumps, and being successful signifies that they understood the concept well. "You've got a heart drug?" says Parker. "You let me put it on my jellyfish, and I'll tell you if it can improve the pumping."
Read the original article at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=artificial-jellyfish-built-from-rat-cells.
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