Researchers Create Lung On a Chip

ElectricSteve writes "Utilizing human lung and blood vessel cells, researchers have created a device mounted on a microchip that mimics a living, breathing human lung. About the size of a rubber eraser, the device was developed by a team from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, and Children's Hospital Boston. Because it's translucent, researchers can watch the processes taking place inside of it — something that's difficult to do with an actual lung. It will be used for testing the respiratory effects of environmental toxins, aerosolized therapeutics, and new drugs. Using conventional models, such tests can cost more than $2 million."

Science Friday

[Microlith]

For anyone interested, this is the topic of Science Friday on NPR -right now-.

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[Microlith]

Too late for live listening, the audio will probably be up in the next day or so here:

http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201006252 [sciencefriday.com]

Sweet, a use that isn't lung replacement

[TinBromide]

So before a whole bunch of people talk about implanting a RAID array of solid state lungs in you, or helping people, or finding a better way to assist people with breathing issues, I'm going to give kudos to the submitter for putting the intended purpose of these things in the summary.

That aside, when will we be able to implant a RAID array of solid state lungs?

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[Anonymous Coward]

Would be a RAIL array..

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[spazdor]

Oh, go type your PIN number into an ATM machine.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[gumbi west]

Isn't it a beowulf cluster, how long have you been here?

If you want to go raid, how would RAID 5 work with these?

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[boneclinkz]

I'm back from processing, and now entirely comfortable with the concept of a redundant RAID array of independent disks. Also, I have newfound confidence in social situations.

I even talked to a girl.

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[omnichad]

The "R" in RAID stands for redundant. I thought most people wanted their RAIDs to be redundant ;-)

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[Hatta]

You're probably better off just going with JBOL.

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[mcgrew]

That aside, when will we be able to implant a RAID array of solid state lungs?

Imagine a beowolf cluster of them...

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[Psion]

I'd be up for a RAID array of solid state lungs if they're more efficient than normal lungs. Up to now, I've been hoping for re-engineered lungs based on those used by birds. I figure the high-efficiency of bird lungs will allow me to opt for smaller lungs and then give me room for a second heart (because it just doesn't make sense to have only one organ doing such an important job). Now with hyper-efficient lungs and two hearts spreading all that oxygenated blood through my circulatory system, I expect to

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[vidnet]

And, of course, there are benefits beyond the stated cost savings. We get to see the effects on human lung tissue rather than on approximations like mouse lungs, and it can reduce the number of animals needed for testing.

LungChips

[jayhawk88]

Now available in Regular, BBQ, and Cool Ranch flavors.

Obligatory: But Will LOAC

[Anonymous Coward]

run WinBLOZE [microsoft.com]?

Yours In Krasnoyarsk,
K. Trout

hands off our chips!

[slashmojo]

Legions of british couch potatoes were almost moved to protest the inhuman experiments on their national dish.. but couldn't be bovvered.

*phew* lucky I read the summary after..

Hey its friday, gimme a break! ;)

Conventional methods?

[God'sDuck]

"Using conventional models, such tests can cost over $2 million."
 
Conventional methods for testing human lungs? Like, for shackles, hiding bodies and bribing the local police?

Progress

[Ukab the Great]

First I can't stick magnets to my hard drive. Now I can't smoke around my CPU. These new-fangled inventions are killing all my fun.

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[Anonymous Coward]

and if I enjoy recreating life?

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[mcgrew]

My head just asploded.

recreate [merriam-webster.com]

We weren't meant for recreation, we were meant to have fun! Uh, and I doubt these artificial lungs are self-aware. But the artificial lens in my left eye sees a lot better than the real one it replaced did, even if it's not self-aware. I don't think the real lens was self-aware, either.

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[hierophanta]

say what now? we're not supposed to procreate? (and yes i do believe procreate / recreate / create all have the same meaning here)

Terminators?

[ubermiester]

So are we putting the pieces together on our own or is SkyNet reaching back from the future to make us do it..?

What next?

[aBaldrich]

Yesterday we had the story about artificial lungs implanted on rats [slashdot.org], today we have this... I think in a week we'll have a story about a computer system, which will be given command over all military hardware...

The sport version

[syntheticmemory]

Denies it is on steroids...

Ill Pass...

[night_flyer]

...I prefer Queso, Salsa and Jalapenos on my chips

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[hitmark]

hey, stop eating mexican over a open computer case!

will work for cheese

[uncanny]

With yet another job taken by machines, how will the mice find work so they can feed their little babies?

For whom the bell tulls

[jollyreaper]

Sitting on a lab bench
Came of mad science with good intent.
Environmental toxins
Clear tissues seared by nasty goo!
Twitching under cold lights
shivering as endless tests are run.
Looking quite obscene
If it had a mouth it would probably scream.

Microlung!

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[MaerD]

...Luckily Ian Anderson is still with us, else the speed of his rotating in his grave would throw the earth off axis and we'd all need "MicroLungs"

Great news for smokers...

[UBfusion]

Can this thing can just allow nicotine and perform tar garbage collection?

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[TangoMargarine]

Come again?