Procrastinating? We’ve got just the thing! The YTT have pulled together a series of TED Talks that they LOVE. Grab some popcorn and get comfy, because you’re about to get seriously inspired by these amazing engineering projects.
What is this TED talk about?
This TED talk is about tissue engineering. Scientists and engineers have been able to harvest skin cells and force them back into the embryonic stem cell stage. They can then choose what type of tissue to create (e.g. brain, liver, heart) out of these stem cells. They can then test different drugs on the tissues. This could potentially be the future of medicine, where drugs could be engineered specifically to your DNA so that your healthcare is personalized and works perfectly for you with very few side effects.
What’s rad about it?
This tissue engineering is amazing because it offers the possibility of a future of personalized medicine, where drugs could be tested specifically with your DNA to see if they work for you. This would reduce the need for animal and human testing, would save a lot of money, and would ensure the best healthcare possible. It offers so much hope for the treatment of so many diseases! There’s also the “cool factor” of it…how cool is it that they can create living, functioning heart tissue that actually beats!?
How did it inspire you?
This video was so inspiring because it was just so cool! I never knew that engineers could do things like this. I’ve always had an interest in the human body/medicine, but this opened my eyes to a whole new revolutionary technology that has the potential to change the world! I’m inspired to learn more about the topic.
What surprised you?
I was surprised that it was an engineer who created this concept! My perception was that engineers build and develop things that help society in general (devices, bridges, transportation, etc) and that doctors develop new biological medical technology. It was fascinating to learn that engineers can create things like this!
Did you ever have an idea about developing something yourself that solves a problem in the world? Tell us all about it
I have absolutely no idea how I would do it, but I would love to develop something that helps cure cancer in a way that doesn’t affect the rest of the body, something that is a better alternative to chemotherapy. I heard about this one study where they were trying to kill cancer cells by injecting the tumor with a virus. I’d like to help develop something like that that could help so many people who are suffering.
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