Nanotechnology will one day be used extensively in the field of medicine. Varying from replicating cells to analyzing broken bones to cleaning up nasty biological hazards, medicine will be greatly enhanced by all of the wonderful things that nanotechnology is capable of doing. In this article, we will thoroughly go over each of the aspects that nanotechnology will play on the medical industry and how it will help both the doctor and you, the patient. Let us begin.

Making Vaccines Nanotechnology will greatly speed up the process of creating vaccines. Take the swine flu vaccines, for example. The reason that it takes so long to come up with a perfect vaccine (even though most vaccines on the market are no where near perfect) is because scientists must be able to take samples of medicines that they think will work and then mix them with the actual virus to see if it neutralizes the virus in a living subject. All of this is mostly trial and error and can take a long time. After that, doctors then have to see what types of negative effects it has on the host (thats the patient) so they know how to counteract the side effects or at least know what theyre dealing with. Nanotechnology will be able to make this all go a lot faster because, being so tiny, you could theoretically load thousands of nanites with thousands of different vaccines and inject them into the host all at once and see if any of them work. If it does work, you could then narrow down your results by trying the same experiment on a new subject and only using half of the original vaccines. If it still works, then you can keep narrowing it down; if it doesnt work, then you know that the vaccine you want is in the second experiment and you could then use the same process to narrow down those vaccines instead.

Cleaning Up Contamination Nanotechnology will also be a big help for cleaning up chemical wastes and other types of biological hazards that may spill into a residential area. Nanotechnology will be able to work quickly by scurrying throughout the area (whether thats on ground, air, water, or in a living subject; or even all at the same time!) and analyzing everything it comes across to decide whether that object is contaminated or not. If it decides that an object is contaminated then it can quickly separate the toxins from the object and surrounding area or simply inject anti-toxins onto the affected area. In the case of living subjects, nanotechnology will be able to continuously provide the person or animal with oxygen, monitor their vital signs, deliver anti-toxins, and constantly update the health of that body.

Biological Analysis Nanotechnology will one day be able to scurry throughout our bodies via the circulatory system (traveling through our blood) and monitor every single vital sign that exists. Nanites will be able to address whether theres any broken bones, torn muscle tissue, irregularities, monitor metabolism levels, monitor cholesterol levels, make sure that the organs are functioning properly, and any other type of requirement for a healthy body. If you thought that one of those cameras they stick down your throat (or rectum!) was a sign of advanced medical breakthroughs, think again! Nanites will be able to monitor your every need and alert the doctor of any problems with anything in your body. Its like thousands of tiny, little cameras zooming around your blood stream at all hours. Rest assured, nanotechnology on its way to save the day!

Regeneration Nanotechnology may also be able to aid and even perfect the act of regenerating cells. In case you dont know, regeneration is the process of bringing a person back to life. Today, there are many different problems with doing so but nanotechnology may be able to fix most if not all of them. One of the biggest problems is due to the crystalization of frozen cells but nanotechnology may be able to warm those cells and even remake some of them so that the person doesnt biologically fall apart when theyre revived. Nanotechnology may be able to also simply cure cell damage as soon as we die which means we wouldnt even have to be frozen first.

Cancer With over ten million Americans alone with some form of cancer or another, people are eagerly searching for remedies and treatment options. Nanotechnology may very well be the answer to the long search weve been hoping for. Below are two different methods of curing cancer due to nanotechnology:

Odots Odots are gold nanites that are able to track down cancer cells in the body and identify them so that doctors can now know exactly where all cancer cells are in the body without even having to use one of those awful rectal cameras.

Nanoparticles Nanoparticles will be able to inject chemotherapy directly into cancer cells themselves with very minimal damage to the surrounding cells. Today, chemotherapy leaves a cancer victim extremely weak and nearly dead; tomorrow, chemotherapy will be a quick, painless procedure and youll only feel the positive effects of the treatment. Hurray for nanotechnology!

Nanoshells Nanoshells work similarly to nanoparticles but instead of injecting the cancer cells with chemotherapy, they will simply use the heat from infrared light. You may be surprised but scientists have discovered that when these nanites are irradiated by xrays, they produce electrons that destroy the cancer cells without harming much of the surrounding area. That means no more chemotherapy and no more sickness! Nanoshells will make cancer seem easier than the common cold.

Heal Broken Bones In order to heal broken bones, companies are developing what is commonly known as nanotubes in order to provide bones with a proper structure in order for them to grow back in the way that they are supposed to. Coupled with other medicines, we may one day even be able to grow entire bones back within a very short period of time whethers thats a few days or a few weeks is anybodys guess, but it still beats todays methods.

Biomarkers A biomarker will bea form of nanotechnology that is able to attach itself to various diseased cells inside of the body in order for a doctor to be able to analyze it and treat the person accordingly. In todays world, many diseases go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, leading to even more complications. With this new technology, however, we will be able to save many more lives simply by being more informed.

Faster Wound Healing A company called Z-Medica is producing medical gauze that contains special nanotechnology known as nanoparticles. These nanoparticles will be loaded with a drug called aluminosilicate, which helps blood clot faster in open wounds. Knife wound victims today have a fair chance of dying depending on how deep the cut is, where it is, and how fast that person is treated. In tomorrows world, however, people may carry this type of gauze on them at all times and could easily bandage themselves up in a jiffy and they will be ok until they can receive proper emergency treatment.

I hope this article has shone some light into your world concerning the various ways that nanotechnology will aid and revolutionize the medical industry. In the future, we wont be so stressed out about medical conditions or even would-be fatal injuries that todays medicine simply cant help. In the world of tomorrow, we will be safer and more aware of and against the dangers surrounding us.

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Future Nanotechnology