This wartime tool is truly “cutting” edge!
The US Air Force is developing science-fiction-worthy skin technology that could soon heal soldiers’ wounds five times faster than the human body, officials said Thursday.
A University of Michigan scientist Dr. Indika Rajapakse is working with the military branch to research ways to “reprogram” a person’s own cells to speed up healing — potentially improving the long-term health of soldiers and veterans, the US Air Force said in a press release.
To research the mind-bending tech, Rajapakse is using a special live cell imaging microscope paid for by the US Air Force, along with an elaborate algorithm, he said.
“The impact of this research effort can be far reaching,” Rajapakse said. “We have the resources to do this, and it is our obligation to take full advantage of them.”
Cellular reprogramming involves taking one type of human cell, such as a skin cell, and rejiggering its genome so it becomes a different kind of cell, such as a muscle or blood cell.
Other details including when the technology could be ready for use were not immediately available.