Incredible Breakthroughs in Biotechnology That Could Save Lives

The transformative power of biotechnology in improving human health and well-being

The world of biotechnology advances rapidly daily. Scientific and engineering breakthroughs in medical technology are helping to save many lives. Technology like gene editing and robotic surgery are pushing the boundaries for healthcare. Below are ten incredible breakthroughs in biotechnology that could save lives.

Medical Drones

Getting medicine to people around the world can be a big hassle. Some communities are remote or have limited access to medical care, making it difficult for people in these areas to get the help they need. Flying drones might be the solution to this problem. Zipline, a logistics and technology company, has created special medical delivery drones that can deliver medicine remotely at any location in the world.

These drones can fly up to 160 kilometers in all weather conditions autonomously and deliver medicine in as quickly as 30 minutes. So far, these drones have been employed in a few countries and have flown over 18 million collective miles. They deliver blood units, vaccines, medications, and so on to various healthcare facilities. Drone Delivery Canada, another medical drone company, has utilized drone technology to deliver crucial medication to far-out communities.

Proteome Editing

Proteomes, a portmanteau of the words “protein” and “genome,” can be thought of as building blocks in the human body. They’re proteins responsible for many bodily functions, like structural support for muscle tissue, bones, and cells; enzymatic functions, like breaking down food to produce energy, and much more. Over the past decade or so, medical researchers have been making huge advancements in editing these proteomes to help eliminate many diseases and other body afflictions.

David Liu, a faculty member at the Broad Institute, led a research team in making a significant proteome editing discovery back in 2021. Their platform PACE (phage-assisted-continuous evolution) used specially engineered botulinum toxins to target sequences associated with neurodegeneration and inflammation. This brings huge potential to proteome editing as new treatments for these conditions.

Gene Drives CRISPR

The future of humanity lies in gene manipulation. It’s only a matter of time before scientists unlock the full potential of genetic material. Recent advancements in CRISPR gene drives might bring that dream closer to reality. CRISPR gene drive technology allows genetic engineers to propagate certain genetic traits in any given population group. For example, CRISPR can be used to reduce the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like Malaria and West Nile Virus. CRISPR-Cas9 technology is more powerful than its previous implementation.

So far, CRISPR-Cas9 has been extremely promising in laboratory conditions for reducing mosquito-borne diseases. That’s not the only benefit, however, as gene drive systems are also good at reducing invasive species and crop pests. CRISPR can introduce deleterious traits within a given population, reducing the prevalence of undesirable genetic traits in that species. In the future, this could drastically improve agriculture’s health and save human lives.

Snake robots for surgery

Many of the more complicated motions of surgery could soon be assisted by advanced robotics. For example, researchers have been developing surgery snake robotics over the past couple of years, with some experts estimating that robotic snakes could be commonplace in surgery within a decade or so. Traditional robots are too bulky and rigid for the narrower areas of surgery that may need more flexibility, which is where these robots come in.

A snake robot called COBRA was developed by a team of University of Nottingham engineers. COBRA can relay back high-definition footage for surgery teams while traversing a human body with great dexterity and accuracy. The COBRA robot is around 5 meters in length and 9 millimeters in diameter, meaning it can crawl into the tightest of spaces. This robot was previously used in nuclear plants and jet engineering and now might be very promising for the medical world.

Remote Patient Monitoring

COVID-19 completely changed the healthcare industry and how patients interact with their doctors. Because of social distancing practices, many hospitals and healthcare providers had to rely on remote patient monitoring and telehealth services, which allowed patients to receive care remotely via video call a la Zoom or some other video chat service. While the pandemic is mostly slowing down and things are returning to normal, remote care is here to stay.

The impact these services have is huge. First, many patients who didn’t have easy access to health services before can now get remote care to tend to their needs. Second, healthcare providers can monitor chronic conditions remotely with special devices that do real-time monitoring for vital signs. This wearable technology drastically changes healthcare, helping even more people than before the pandemic. Long-term data collection from these wearables and remote patient care can give doctors a better idea of a patient’s health and how it changes over time.

Stem Cell Banking

Many people may not know this, but the umbilical cord of newborn babies is helping to advance science every day. Umbilical cord blood is a trove of stem cells, holding immense potential for treating a myriad of diseases. Often described as the master cells of the human body, stem cells can morph into a large variety of other cells, serving as the bedrock upon which all cellular structures are formed. Possessing the unique capability to duplicate themselves and repair tissue damage, stem cells play a critical role in the body’s regenerative processes.

Stem cell banking involves the collection and preservation of stem cells found in umbilical cords, which can be utilized for scientific research. Families have the option to donate their baby’s umbilical cord blood to either a public or private cord blood bank, where it undergoes testing and is stored for future research purposes. These stem cell banks play a crucial role in advancing medical research and discovering potential cures for a wide range of diseases and ailments.

Bioluminescence Imaging

Bioluminescence imaging is one of the most powerful tools scientists have in studying disease processes. The technique uses special technology to project real-time visualization of light emitted from living organisms. This is especially helpful when studying how diseases work in small laboratory animals, such as rats and mice. Bioluminescence is created from this process through a series of specific substrates and enzymes, like luciferase, which can emit light at certain wavelengths.

Special charge-coupled device cameras are used to convert photos into electrical charge patterns, thus creating an image of the biological activity. Bioluminescence has been invaluable in studying lung diseases, pancreatitis, endotoxins, and so on, giving scientists an extensively detailed bio map of these afflictions. Bioluminescence is the future of pathobiology, and numerous advancements are made daily in this exciting field.

Virtual Reality Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation from injuries and diseases normally isn’t a huge medical emergency, but if patients don’t get the care they need, these conditions become life-threatening. Recently, medical researchers have been incorporating virtual reality (VR) into extremity-related injury rehabilitation. This technology shows promising results in helping patients recover from temporary disability. VR technology, which has mainly been used in the entertainment industry, is now being used for important medical discoveries and research.

VR rehabilitation includes using three-dimensional environments simulated by computer animation to create immersive and interactive rehabilitation programs. This VR technology includes cheap game-based systems like Xbox Kinect and Nintendo Wii, which are both affordable and very home-accessible. The use of VR in rehabilitation has so far been a great success, with many patients reporting high levels of satisfaction and motivation.

Lab on a Chip

Scientists often need large, dedicated laboratories to commit to their research as best as they can. Scientific equipment is usually bulky and requires a lot of energy to function. Now, imagine the benefits of lab tech fit onto a single microchip. That’s what lab-on-a-chip aims to accomplish, a radically new way of approaching scientific work. And best of all, it’s significantly cheaper than traditional laboratory technology.

Lab-on-a-chip technology is a small device attached to a chip that can use multiple scientific analyses, like biochemical detection and DNA sequencing. This technology can perform experiments by handling small amounts of liquids, a feat accomplished through the chip’s many sensors, channels, and valves. The small form factor is incredibly beneficial for precise control and efficiency over lab results. This means that analysis can be performed faster, cheaper, and more portable.

Regenerative Medicine

Some diseases and physical ailments make it difficult for the body to recover from injury. This is where regenerative medicine comes in. This wildly innovative branch of medical engineering involves a diverse range of treatments and solutions to restoring damaged organs and tissue. Regenerative medicine isn’t just about treating symptoms but about fixing the root cause of ailments.

Biomaterials, tissue engineering, cellular therapies, artificial organs, and medical devices all fall under regenerative medicine. Some cellular therapies use adult stem cells from body parts like skeletal muscle, cord blood, bone marrow, and so on. Many advancements in the field of regenerative medicine have been made over the past few years, and stem cell therapy has seen great results in tissue regeneration.