modern medicine library

 

Modern Medicine has helped people overcome many health problems and conditions. From artificial blood and hearts to nuclear medicine and proton therapy, discover a variety of cutting edge medical products and techniques in this section.

Featured Article:  How Artificial Vision Will Work

There was once no cure for blindness, but artificial vision systems implanted directly on the retina may restore sight. Is a silicon microchip the answer to combating retinal disease? See more »

Are plants used in modern medicine?

Are plants used in modern medicine?

It's hard to imagine that the pills handed to you by the pharmacist in the pristine white lab coat were derived from the darkest, muggiest depths of the rainforest.

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Can people get bone marrow transplants from baboons?

Can people get bone marrow transplants from baboons?

In the history of desperate time and desperate measures, you'll find Jeff Getty's story. After getting FDA approval and finding a willing doctor, Getty had a baboon bone marrow transplant in 1995. The results? A mixed bag of success and skepticism.

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How Artificial Blood Works

How Artificial Blood Works

Swapping out a non-functioning organ for a manmade replacement usually makes sense, but what about a manmade replacement for blood? Learn all about artificial blood.

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How Artificial Hearts Work

How Artificial Hearts Work

On July 2, 2001, heart failure patients gained new hope, as surgeons performed the first artificial heart transplant in nearly two decades. The AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart is the first completely self-contained artificial heart and is expected to at least double the life expectancy of patients.

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How Artificial Vision Will Work

How Artificial Vision Will Work

There was once no cure for blindness, but artificial vision systems implanted directly on the retina may restore sight. Is a silicon microchip the answer to combating retinal disease?

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How Biomechatronics Works

How Biomechatronics Works

In the TV series "The Six Million Dollar Man," scientists restore a crippled test pilot who lost legs one arm and an eye. While this is total fiction, an emerging field known as biomechatronics is coming close to this vision.

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How can doctors use virtual reality to treat phobias?

How can doctors use virtual reality to treat phobias?

Nothing beats watching a blockbuster on the big screen, but today's home theater systems do an impressive job bringing that experience into your home. In this article, we'll explain how the components of a home theater system re-create the sounds and

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How can light kill viruses?

How can light kill viruses?

Hand sanitizers can only get you so far in preventing a viral infection. Scientists are discovering how visible light can be used to destroy viruses. Learn about the laser technique and what it means for the future.

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How can scientists use an inkjet printer to make bones?

How can scientists use an inkjet printer to make bones?

An ingenious new method of creating artificial bone makes use of something many people have in their home: an inkjet printer. Find out how an inkjet printer can turn out artificial bones.

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How can spam e-mail help fight HIV?

How can spam e-mail help fight HIV?

How can spam e-mail help fight HIV? Find out how spam e-mail and HIV are linked and learn about new methods for HIV treatment.

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How could gold save my life?

How could gold save my life?

In a July 2007 study, scientists detailed their use of gold nanoparticles to detect breast cancer. Nanoparticles may also form the basis of future cancer treatments.

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How could the flu vaccine prevent heart attacks?

How could the flu vaccine prevent heart attacks?

Studies show anywhere from a 25 percent to a 50 percent decrease in mortality and hospitalization rates for heart patients who get the flu vaccine. Find out how researchers are connecting the flu vaccine with increased heart health.

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How does a "bionic eye" allow blind people to see?

How does a "bionic eye" allow blind people to see?

A company called Second Sight has received FDA approval to begin U.S. trials of a retinal implant system that gives blind people a limited degree of vision. Find out how the "bionic eye" will work.

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How Face Transplants Work

How Face Transplants Work

Your face is how the world sees you. But what if something awful happened to it? In 2005, Isabelle Dinoire was the first recipient of a face transplant. How do doctors transplant a face, and is it a good idea?

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How Hearing Aids Work

How Hearing Aids Work

Hearing aids -- small electronic devices that amplify sound -- can help restore many of the sounds that hearing-impaired people are missing. Find out how hearing aids work in this article.

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How Lab-grown Skin Works

How Lab-grown Skin Works

A burn injury is one of the most hellish things a body can endure, and until recently, a serious third-degree burn meant certain death. Skin grown in a lab (yes, you read that right) improves the odds.

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How Nuclear Medicine Works

How Nuclear Medicine Works

Nuclear materials get used in many forms of nuclear medicine -- everything from PET scans to chemotherapy uses them. Learn how nuclear medicine works.

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How Prosthetic Limbs Work

How Prosthetic Limbs Work

Your body is a remarkable piece of biological machinery, and your limbs are no exception. Did you ever wonder how prosthetic limbs are made and how they are controlled? And are scientists developing bionic artificial limbs?

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Is proton therapy better than traditional radiation for cancer treatment?

Is proton therapy better than traditional radiation for cancer treatment?

Radiation therapy for cancer is based on the idea of selective cell destruction, and it destroys cells using energy. As it turns out, protons release energy in a different way than X-rays do.

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Is the cure for cancer a virus?

Is the cure for cancer a virus?

Researchers are working on ways to engineer viruses to attack cancer cells, killing the disease without radiation, medicine or surgery. How do the viruses know what to kill?

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