The Real-Artificial Arm

A breakthrough in prosthetic arms can give thousands of people a second chance at a normal life. The new procedure is called targeted muscle reinnervation, and it allows the prosthetic arm to be moved automatically and almost as naturally as a real arm. Nerves remaining from an amputation are connected to muscle, most commonly chest muscle. Electrodes are placed over the muscle, and at cue, the brain sends signals to the muscles which trigger the prosthetic arm to move accordingly. The artificial leg had long been mastered, however the artificial arm remained a challenge until now. Because the new reinnervation technique is costly and requires surgical attachment and post surgical adjustments, it is not attainable to everyone. However, with rising numbers of amputations from diabetes and military injuries, this new technique is quickly gaining interest. Already it has been performed on dozens of patients including military personals. Hopefully, this procedure will make way for even better arm prosthetic techniques and become accessible to even more amputees.

Man vs. Malaria

It’s nice to see nations put aside differences and come together for a good cause once in a while. Recently a Malarial parasite is starting to show resistance to drug treatments in Cambodia. It has been noted that, what used to take the drugs only 48 hours to remove parasites from the bloodstream, is now taking over 100 hours. The treatment is a type of combination treatment using artemisinin (antimalaria drug extracted from a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine) and is by far the most effective treatment for malaria. The resistance has been worrying many doctors and scientists because there are currently no other treatments that surpass these. Previously, a resistance against what was once considered the “miracle drug” introduced after WWII, formed and spread from Cambodia throughout Asia and Africa. Since then, there have been numerous actions taken to treat Malaria patients such as the President’s Malaria Initiative ($1.2 billion program started by the Bush administration three years ago to cut malaria deaths in half in the countries affected worst). Now, more than ever, organizations are joining together to fight the disease and prevent the newly forming resistance from growing and spreading. The organizations include the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Malaria takes hundreds of thousands of lives every year, and still thousands more continue to suffer from the disease. Malaria still remains an issue, perhaps even a growing one. But with the right recognition and united effort perhaps we can claim victory over the vicious disease.