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If tunnelling nanotubes are real and widespread as the article and cited articles claim, we are in front of a major, once-in-a-century discovery in biology. Ba
by albertcardona 18y ago
If tunnelling nanotubes are real and widespread as the article and cited articles claim, we are in front of a major, once-in-a-century discovery in biology.
Basically, the assumption that cells are enclosed units with isolated internal cytoplasm--the very definition of the word 'cell', over 100 years old--would no longer hold.
As the article explains, medicine is up for a review. Many aspects of protein prions, HIV, and who knows how many other illnesses are suddenly explainable.
- qaexl 18y agoStem cell researches have found that in order to grow a healthy organ, the progenitor cells must be in a certain physical arrangement. For example, bladder stem cells won't produce a bladder unless it is in some sort of rough surface. The tunnelling nanotubes can certainly explain this. There are also other engineering disciplines that analyzes biology as a source of inspiration. I think abstracting the concept of transit, hidden networks will go a long way towards constructing self-building nanotechs.