Its the medical innovation that no one asked for.
In lab experiments testing their creation, they found that it was as sticky as intended.
Adult tapeworms survive by attaching themselves to their hosts gut and siphoning off nutrients from our body.
Comparisons of the team’s synthetic scolex to an actual tapeworm.© Maquignaz et al/PNAS Nexus
The millimeters-long attachment is made out of stainless steel and polymers.
They tested their prototype on medical hydrogels that could simulate body tissue.
And should their rig pan out, the researchers envision a wide array of uses for it.
A high-speed video (8000 frames per second) showing how the device’s hooks are deployed. © Maquignaz et al/PNAS Nexus
Those all sound like very useful and practical applications.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
Vertica’s trying to solve it with electronics, not drugs.
