Recent Nanotech Advancement: Regrowable Teeth!

Source

Quote:

"Right now, we plan to use it to fix fractured or diseased teeth, as well as asymmetric jawbones, but it may also help hockey players or children who had their tooth knocked out," Jie Chen, an engineering professor and nano-circuit design expert, told AFP.

Chen helped create the tiny ultrasound machine that gently massages gums and stimulates tooth growth from the root once inserted into a person's mouth, mounted on braces or a removable plastic crown.

The wireless device, smaller than a pea, must be activated for 20 minutes each day for four months to stimulate growth, he said.

It can also stimulate jawbone growth to fix a person's crooked smile and may eventually allow people to grow taller by stimulating bone growth, Chen said.

Interesting developments as well as applications, no? I give props to the Canucks. Very nice, guys =) Nano tech holla.

Discuss! (I lol'd at the pic in the article ;D) An early stage of medical nanotechology!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Bear in mind that this could be used to help heal bones faster by proxy somewhere down the medical line. Could directly apply this to wound healing rates eventually as well. You may not think much of it, but think of the furthered applications further along in the near future.

Cherrypop --
I need a new av/sig anyhow ;_;

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by packrat

Does anyone else think that the application of the buzz-word "nanotechnology" is invalid in this case? The only thing "nano" about it is probably some of the circuitry, which is most likely nothing truly new to the electronic world.

How is it invalid? Even if the circuitry is "nano," then it's nanotechnology. The object, as stated in the article, is smaller than a pea. And this is a pretty sophisticated piece of hardware. It's gotta have an internal battery, circuitry, and the hardware with the ability to send out these massaging vibes to the gums. Twenty minutes a day for months on end without changing out. That's pretty sophisticated, y'know.

Plus, it's hand-in-hand with medical works. Which is very good.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Heh. Attacking my use of the term "sophisticated"? That's rather strange. HAY IPODS PLAY LOTSA MUSIC. Must be nanotechnology 'cuz I said it was sophisticated~

Originally Posted by packrat

How small must something be for it to be considered "nano?" If you are referring to circuitry, then shouldn't we be calling modern computers nanotechnology? If not that, then is it dependent upon the scale of the devices itself?

...

Although the device is damn small, it is not "nano" scale. It irritates me to no end when people toss around that magical buzzword "nano" frivolously. At one time, marketing people were even calling some stain-repellant pants "nanotechnology." Honestly, what the fuck is that?

You should read up on that stuff. Stain-repellant pants are nanotechnology because they are woven with nano-fibers. They are so fine and closely knit that they can keep out most fluids and prevent stains.

I'm calling this nanotechnology because a *nano technician/engineer* was behind it. He and another man (mentioned in article) helped shrink down a palm-sized device to this petite size. Now. You have a computer. Which has all the stuff needed to function. This is essentially a computer in itself. It's got all the processors, battery storage areas, hardware to emit the pulses/vibes, ALL in there. This is quite different from making a Microchip. This thing has its *own* microchips and it's this small. That is my point. You're talking about a computer *chip* being microtechnology. This thing is its own computer and has all the bells and whistles to operate on its own at such a small scale, while ours are still big boxes that sit on desks or a bulk of a laptop's size. You may say "yeah well computers do more." I'll fall back on what I mentioned previously -- this thing has to do a physical task daily for quite a lengthy period of time over a cycle of months without being changed out. Plus, there's also the issue of heating. If this thing generates heat in usage of the battery, then it'll have to be insulated with a special sort of shell casing.

Sorry to step on your toes but the suffix isn't wasted here. I suggest you try not to get so huffy about it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I don't see it as misleading at all. You just have a sort of knee-jerk hatred of folks using the prefix. But, whatever. I've driven my points home already.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Well, unless they find some say to force over/underbite, they'll just prick themselves =(

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?