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The Simulated Lung: A Breath of Fresh Air

By IGI Global on Jul 23, 2010
Experimental technology may have found a new kind of "lab rat". A team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has created a device that uses human lung and blood vessel cells along with a microchip to simulate a lung. Using the tissue, they have simulated a breathing motion, and using a culture through a small channel, they have imitated blood. These advances may lead to a new way to test experimental drugs in a safe environment.

Many drug experiments are currently done on animals, and scientists have found this to be inefficient and inconvenient due to a lengthy timeline and high costs. If this new "lung-on-a-chip" technology is developed further, it could potentially replace a large section of animal testing and make testing more efficient. Several experiments were tried on the device, and it was found to react to certain variables in the same way a human lung should have reacted. The team, led by Daniel Huh in collaboration with Donald Ingber, spent about three years completing the study (www.ibtimes.com/articles/30896/20100625/harvard-science-human-lung-breathing-technology-animal-testing.htm).

Biologically inspired computing is just one of many important topics covered by the International Journal of Natural Computing Research (IJNCR) (Editor-in-chief Leandro Nunes de Castro, Mackenzie University, Brazil), published by IGI Global, an information science and technology publisher. This journal provides a forum for researchers to disseminate knowledge on all aspects of natural computing and to serve as a reference source for state-of-the-art innovative findings. IJNCR provides a comprehensive view of natural computing with emphasis on its main branches.International Journal of Natural Computing Research

Natural computing is an important subject that covers the intersection between nature and computing. Regarding this, Dr. Nunes de Castro explains, "there are actually a number of [ways] nature and computing can be linked together. Nature is full of phenomena, ‘things' and processes that can be used as metaphors for the design of effective problem solving techniques. As simple examples, ant colonies are capable of finding the shortest path between the nest and a food source; brains can process information for decision making; immune systems can protect organisms against the attack of invaders; chemical reactions can be used for optimizing processes; and so forth." As the links grow between nature and computing, this interdisciplinary subject continues to be an extremely innovative research area. The International Journal of Natural Computing Research is a quarterly published journal reviewed by an international board. For more information on this reference, please visit www.igi-global.com/ijncr.

Among Related Titles Are:

• Cellular Automata and Complex Systems: Methods for Modeling Biological Phenomena (www.igi-global.com/Bookstore/TitleDetails.aspx?TitleId=37350)
• Handbook of Research on Computational Methodologies in Gene Regulatory Networks (www.igi-global.com/Bookstore/TitleDetails.aspx?TitleId=451)
• Handbook of Research on Artificial Immune Systems and Natural Computing: Applying Complex Adaptive Technologies (www.igi-global.com/Bookstore/TitleDetails.aspx?TitleId=443)
Browse for more posts in:
HealthcareMedical, Healthcare, and Life SciencesBioinformaticsBiologically-Inspired ComputingJournals

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