A heat-activated penis implant may offer
new hope for men suffering from erectile
dysfunction. Scientists at the University of
Wisconsin–Madison used nitinol, a nickeltitanium
alloy known for its elasticity
and shape memory, to develop a device
that expands when heated. The implant
remains flaccid at normal human body
temperature, becomes erect when warmed
slightly, and returns to its flaccid state on
cooling. The device isn’t perfect: Men fitted
with it would get an erection every time
they bathed, unless they draped a cold, wet
towel over their groin. But Brian Le, who
led the research, hopes it will offer men with
treatment-resistant erectile dysfunction an
option that’s simpler and less awkward than
an implant requiring a penis pump. “We’re
hoping that, with a better device, a better
patient experience, and a simpler surgery,
more urologists would perform this operation,
and more patients would want to try
the device,” he tells MedicalDaily.com. Le
and his team are now working on a remote
control that would activate the implant, using
heat induction, when waved over the penis.
A new human organ
Since the late 1800s, medical textbooks
like Gray’s Anatomy have listed 78 organs
in the human body. But that tally has just
gone up, reports The Washington Post.
Irish researchers have determined
that the mesentery,
a sheet of tissue that
connects the intestines
to the abdominal wall,
should be categorized
as a bona fide organ. For
decades, it was widely
believed that the mesentery
was merely a series of fragmented
membranes. But after
re-examining its structure, two
scientists from the University
of Limerick concluded that
it is in fact one continuous
entity that plays a vital role
in preventing the intestines from flopping
around in the belly. They believe the
mesentery fits the broad definition of an
organ: a self-contained structure that performs
a specific bodily function. “Without
it,” says study author J. Calvin Coffey,
“you can’t live.” It remains unclear what
other purposes the mesentery serves, or to
which system of the body it belongs. But
the researchers say that reclassifying the
body part as an organ will encourage further
study, which could help shed light on
Crohn’s disease and other gut disorders.
like Gray’s Anatomy have listed 78 organs
in the human body. But that tally has just
gone up, reports The Washington Post.
Irish researchers have determined
that the mesentery,
a sheet of tissue that
connects the intestines
to the abdominal wall,
should be categorized
as a bona fide organ. For
decades, it was widely
believed that the mesentery
was merely a series of fragmented
membranes. But after
re-examining its structure, two
scientists from the University
of Limerick concluded that
it is in fact one continuous
entity that plays a vital role
in preventing the intestines from flopping
around in the belly. They believe the
mesentery fits the broad definition of an
organ: a self-contained structure that performs
a specific bodily function. “Without
it,” says study author J. Calvin Coffey,
“you can’t live.” It remains unclear what
other purposes the mesentery serves, or to
which system of the body it belongs. But
the researchers say that reclassifying the
body part as an organ will encourage further
study, which could help shed light on
Crohn’s disease and other gut disorders.
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