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WOULD YOU SWALLOW A MEDICAL IMPLANT IF IT MEANT PROTECTING YOUR HEALTH? PRETTY SOON,
YOU CAN.
HEY THIS IS ANNIE FOR DNEWS.
WE KNOW THAT EVEN COMMON MEDICATIONS CAN HAVE SIDE EFFECTS THAT AREN'T FUN...YOU KNOW, THE
ONES PHARMA COMPANIES SPIT OUT AT THE END OF THEIR DRUG ADS AS QUICKLY AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE.
EXACERBATING THIS IS THE FACT THAT ABOUT HALF OF PEOPLE TAKE MEDICATIONS INCORRECTLY ANYWAY,
ACCORDING TO A SURVEY BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION.
SCIENTISTS ARE WORKING ON THIS PROBLEM THOUGH IN THE FORM OF SMART MEDS OR EVEN IMPLANTS.
A TEAM FROM THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY BUILT NANOSHEETS THAT COMBINED ANTI INFLAMMATORY
DRUGS WITH ELECTRODES THROUGH A POLYMER FILM. THEY WERE THEN ABLE TO CONTROL THE RELEASE
OF THE DRUG THROUGH ELECTRICAL SHOCKS. IT'S IN THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE, BUT THEY SAY THIS
TECHNIQUE COULD BE USEFUL IN TREATING DISEASES LIKE EPILEPSY, WHERE A MEDICATION IS ALREADY
IN YOUR BODY AND CAN BE RELEASED RIGHT AWAY AS A SEIZURE HAPPENS.
THIS STUDY IS JUST ONE OF MANY PROJECTS IN THE WORKS TO CREATE PROGRAMMABLE MEDS.
FOR EXAMPLE, SWALLOWABLE MICROCHIPS HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPROVED BY THE FDA. A COMPANY CALLED
PROTEUS DIGITAL CREATED MICROCHIP-EMBEDDED PILLS WITH TINY SENSORS THAT CAN REACT TO
DIGESTIVE JUICES. THAT RELAYS A SIGNAL TO A PATCH ON YOUR SKIN, WHICH CAN THEN BE RELAYED
TO YOUR DOCTOR. SO IF SOMETHING'S AWRY, OR YOU'RE NOT TAKING YOUR MEDS CORRECTLY, THEY
CAN GET ALERTED AUTOMATICALLY.
AND IN 2012, SCIENTISTS BUILT TINY NANOBOTS OUT OF HUMAN DNA THAT CONTAIN GOOD ENZYMES....ACTING
KIND OF LIKE A TROJAN HORSE, THEY LOOK AND ACT LIKE NORMAL HUMAN DNA BUT HOLD ON THOUGH
THESE ARE STILL IN THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE, DOCTORS ARE HOPEFUL THAT THESE DNA TREATMENTS
CAN BE PROGRAMMED TO ATTACK CANCERS ON THE MOLECULAR LEVEL.
AND THEN OF COURSE THERE ARE THOSE SMART CONTACT LENSES RECENTLY ANNOUNCED BY GOOGLE, WHICH
ARE MEANT TRACK GLUCOSE LEVELS THROUGH YOUR TEARS. THERE ARE ACTUALLY A BUNCH OF COMPANIES
WORKING ON SIMILAR CONCEPTS AND FOR MORE ON THAT, CHECK OUT MY VIDEO ON MY OTHER CHANNEL
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED...
SO WHETHER IT'S A LENS, A MINISCULE CLUSTER OF DNA OR A SWALLOWABLE MICROCHIP...YOUR FUTURE
DOCTOR MIGHT BE...WELL, REALLY TINY.
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO SWALLOW A PILL THAT SENDS INFO TO YOUR DOCTOR? LET US KNOW WHY
OR WHY NOT IN THE COMMENTS, AND AS ALWAYS YOU CAN TALK BACK TO THE SHOW ON TWITTER AT
DNEWS, OR THE DISCOVERY NEWS FACEBOOK PAGE, OR TO ME DIRECTLY AT ANNIEGAUS.
THANKS FOR WATCHING! SEE YOU NEXT TIME.