Wireless drug delivery achieved
Implanted microchip releases medication on command
of MicroCHIPS Inc., the company that
funded and conducted part of the study.
A paper describing the results was also
published online February 16 in Science
Translational Medicine by collaborators
from MicroCHIPS, MIT, Harvard, Case
Western Reserve University and On
Demand Therapeutics.
The idea behind a microchip that could
release chemicals in the body at precise
times was first conceived by MIT scientists over a decade ago. But researchers
needed to make sure that medications
were well-stored in the device.
Also, the immune system
tends to create a barrier of collagen around
implanted devices, which
could make it difficult for
the drug to make it into
the bloodstream.
In the new study, a
device with individual
were well-stored in the device.
Also, the immune system
By Rebecca Cheung
An implanted microchip that releases
medication on command from wireless signals has been demonstrated in
people for the first time using a drug for
osteoporosis.
The tiny device, implanted under the
skin, could be useful in treating many
diseases that require taking medication
regularly, scientists reported February 16.
“This opens up profound possibilities for improving the treatment of
patients and the potential
of telemedicine,” said
Robert Farra, president
An implanted microchip
(right) about the size of
a memory stick (left) can
release drugs in patients
through wireless control,
a new study finds.
doses of the drug teriparatide sealed
inside was implanted under the waistline in eight women with osteoporosis.
When the device receives a wireless signal, a current runs through the microchip, breaking open the metal layers that
contain a single dose of the drug.
About two months after the device
was implanted — and after the immune
system’s protective barrier had
formed — wireless signals programmed
the device to release daily doses of
teriparatide. The drug, which increases
bone mass, is usually given by injection.
Based on blood tests, the doses from
the device appeared to bump up levels
of a molecule called P1NP, which indicates bone building—evidence that
teriparatide released from the microchip works as it should.
Still, there are technical limitations
with this device. John Watson, a bioengineering researcher at the University of California, San Diego, said that
the consistency of the devices needs to
be improved. One device didn’t release
any medication in one patient. s
Scientists surf
Web’s dark side
Mathematical tools collect
information on extremists
By Rachel Ehrenberg
New mathematical tools that combine
Web-crawling techniques, sophisticated
algorithms and human expertise are
gaining access to the “dark side” of the
Web, where extremists discuss and plot
terrorist acts.
The Dark Web Project, started partly
in response to the 9/11 attacks, has
developed ways to track the spread of
dangerous ideas through rogue and
jihadi Web forums. With a mathematical model known as SIR, also used by
epidemiologists to describe disease
transmission, researchers have determined that the infection rate for becoming a suicide bomber is 2 in 10,000,
Hsinchun Chen of the University of
Arizona reported February 18.
Housed at the University of Arizona,
the project collects information from
blogs, forums and other sites in hidden
realms of the Internet. Search engines
typically explore only what’s known as
the “publicly indexable Web.” The invisible Web, which includes these Dark Web
forums, is estimated to contain 500 times
as much information as the surface Web.
Dark Web forums are particularly
tough to crack. There’s no centralized
index of forums, and access is often
restricted to people who have to apply and
be approved, which can take weeks. Using
mathematical approaches to identify and
target forums from known extremist sites
and less obvious places, such as an AOL
group, the researchers then apply for
membership. If they can gain access, they
then need to assess things like how often
the site downloads information and how
many connections it has. Then they can
use a crawling or “spidering” technique
to collect and index information.
