What is the point of such a creation, you might ask. Well, it turns out that it’s a step in the direction of one day being able to grow organic, artificial human hearts. The goal was to create human heart cells that could beat, and maintain that beat, on their own, just like the full organ does.
What human component powers this cyborg fish?
Answer: Heart cells.
This is definitely not as creepy as it might sound. Scientists have made a cyborg fish that can swim under its own power for 100 days, powered by beating human heart cells.
What is the point of such a creation, you might ask. Well, it turns out that it’s a step in the direction of one day being able to grow organic, artificial human hearts. The goal was to create human heart cells that could beat, and maintain that beat, on their own, just like the full organ does.
The heart cells (cardiomyocytes derived from stem cells) were used to compose the fish’s tail, with a layer on each side of a flexible material. When one side contracts, the tail bends in that direction. That contraction causes the other side of the tail to stretch, which then causes it to contract, creating a perpetual cycle. Over time, the muscle cells got stronger as they were used more and the fish got faster, eventually reaching the approximate speed of a zebrafish.
What is the point of such a creation, you might ask. Well, it turns out that it’s a step in the direction of one day being able to grow organic, artificial human hearts. The goal was to create human heart cells that could beat, and maintain that beat, on their own, just like the full organ does.
