Looks like we’ve found our power source for the first round of early Wetwork.

Via Bloomberg.com

Bioskiving: Collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, is widely used to build scaffolds for tissue engineering because it is biocompatible and biodegradable. Collagen is, however, hard to work with in its natural form because it is largely insoluble in water, and common processing techniques reduce its strength and disrupt its fibrous structure.

The Tufts engineers’ new technique, called bioskiving, creates collagen structures from thin sheets of decellularized tendon stacked with alternating fiber directions that maintain much of collagen’s natural strength.

Read the full article here: tufts.edu

Scientists Invent Oxygen Particle That If Injected, Allows You To Live Without Breathing

via TechWench

A team of scientists at the Boston Children’s Hospital have invented what is being considered one the greatest medical breakthroughs in recent years. They have designed a microparticle that can be injected into a person’s bloodstream that can quickly oxygenate their blood. This will even work if the ability to breathe has been restricted, or even cut off entirely. The person can ‘breathe’ for up to 20 minutes.

Not sure where this lives in The Gatecrashers, but that is some awesome tech.  Sounds like it would be a bit more comfortable than the liquid oxygen popularized in The Abyss.

Article from BBC

So imagine if little electric heaters could be implanted into wounds and powered wirelessly to fry bacteria during healing before dissolving harmlessly into body fluids once their job is done.

Read the full article here

Explore Wetwork in the Gatecrashers universe.

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Link to Online Library

CYBORG FOUNDATION | Rafel Duran Torrent from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

There are a number of competing technologies being tested for smart guns, ie. only the gun owner can pull the trigger (think James Bond’s newest Walther PPK in Skyfall).

Here’s a story over at NPR.

“It’s about the size of a grain of rice,” McNamara says of the tag. “It’s that small, and they just inject it under the skin.”

 

photo credit: New Jersey Institute of Technology/AP

This is very cool. Read this excerpt and check out the full article over at Technology Review.

So-called “epidermal electronics” were demonstrated previously in research from the lab of John Rogers, a materials scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; the devices consist of ultrathin electrodes, electronics, sensors, and wireless power and communication systems. In theory, they could attach to the skin and record and transmit electrophysiological measurements for medical purposes. These early versions of the technology, which were designed to be applied to a thin, soft elastomer backing, were “fine for an office environment,” says Rogers, “but if you wanted to go swimming or take a shower they weren’t able to hold up.” Now, Rogers and his coworkers have figured out how to print the electronics right on the skin, making the device more durable and rugged.

via a tip from Diana.

This appears to be where the seeds of PIM will originate for The Gatecrashers. In the Gatecrashers,Protein Infused Meal (PIM) is a state funded foodstuff which becomes the defacto diet of the entire city – or at least those that can’t afford to eat the real thing.

Check out this article in Bloomberg about Faux eggs and salt being created right now.

The founder of a startup called Sand Hill Foods, Patrick Brown, told NPR last year that his company wants to “produce stuff that will compete by being substantially cheaper and every bit as good and essentially indistinguishable to a consumer who loves meat or dairy.”

The venture capitalists behind these startups believe that climate change and the planet’s dwindling natural resources will put more pressure on the food chain and that the food industry will require sustainable alternatives. It sounds reasonable, though venture investors placed similar bets on failed clean- tech plays Solyndra LLC and Fisker Automotive Inc. The clean- food startups will face a different set of challenges, including the reluctance of consumers to give up familiar dietary fare.