TECH TALK: Technology, Science, Innovation...

By M H Ahssan

Artificial Skin Factory
Artificial skin is used not only for treating burns. Pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies need it to test their products, as testing on artificial skin is better than animal-testing. We know how to make artificial skin, but the process is painfully slow — with the result that there is not enough of it around. Companies around the world make 2,000 pieces a month, while the requirement is probably more than 10 million pieces. Now, a team of German scientists have found a method to manufacture it on a large scale.

The process is called tissue engineering. First, a human skin is cut into little pieces. These pieces are then treated with enzymes, and collected in two batches. These batches are then grown in cultures in separate dishes. What grows in these dishes is then combined to form two layers, with the addition of collagen, just like in human skin. It takes three weeks to grow a piece of skin 1 cm in diameter.

This is standard process, but scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute automated the process. Their skin factory, to be completed in two years, can produce 5,000 pieces in a month. That will be a relief for burn victims and pharma companies.

High-tech Bus Stop
Bus stops are dreary places, particularly if the wait is long. Now the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed one that is not just an interesting place, but also a place to do some work. It is called EyeStop, and has been developed by the MIT SENSEable City Lab. It was displayed at the Fiorentino festival in Florence, Italy. A more formal version will be unveiled this October. MIT developed this bus stop to showcase the potential of next-generation urban transport.

It has touch-sensitive electronic ink screens, state-of-the-art sensing technologies and a variety of interactive services. Riders can plan a bus trip on an interactive map, surf the Web, monitor their real-time exposure to pollutants and use their mobile devices as an interface with the bus shelter. They can also post ads and community announcements on an electronic bulletin board at the bus stop. Passengers can get information about the shortest route to their destination or the position of all the buses in the city. It is powered by sunlight, and also gathers information about environmental pollution. The bus stop will start its journey in Florence. Would it arrive in India soon?

Progress On HIV Research
Good news from the AIDS research front. Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania report that they have found a new antiviral method that protects monkeys from SIV, the simian cousin of HIV. Their approach combines elements of vaccines and gene therapy — bypass the immune response and deliver the antibodies.

Researcher Philip Johnson and his team decided to test the idea in the monkey SIV model. They linked pieces of antibody to construct ‘immunoadhesins’. They then stitched the genes for these immunoadhesins into an adeno-associated virus (AAV) to deliver an engineered DNA into the muscles of monkeys, spurring protein production.

Six of the monkeys — of the nine tested — did not become infected with SIV. Experts say the development could eventually lead to a vaccine-like treatment against AIDS.