Today we had our midterms. They were quite relaxed, easygoing, and interesting. Counselors provided positive feedback and even proposed more ideas towards helping groups. Some groups based their ideas entirely on art while others were based entirely on science. Both sides of these spectrums were represented. Our group’s idea was a treatment for Hemophilia A. This genetic disease is passed down through the X chromosome, but appears more frequently in males than females. A malfunction in the genetic code cause the body to not produce Factor VIII, a substance that is needed in order to clot blood. Without this substance, a hemophiliac has trouble clotting his blood once he starts bleeding. This can lead to fatal blood loss or fatal internal hemorrhaging. No cure has been found so far, and treatments are costly and tend to only work temporarily. But our solution was to create a nanobot, which would only be injected one time, and would help synthesize and release Factor VIII to the body, therefore removing the symptoms of Hemophilia. Although the person will be completely normal, they will need to eat a well balanced diet in order for the nanobots to synthesize the glycoprotein, Factor VIII. The person will also be able to pass on hemophilia, but our proposal is that at birth a shot will be injected if Hemophilia is discovered. Our solution would provide a safe, simple, and normal life for Hemophiliacs.
The feedback given to us by the counselors was that we should try to incorporate some form of art into our design. Another comment was, “why not just fix hemophilia, since your task was to imagine the impossible.” This set our group thinking on new ways to improve our idea, and to possibly cure hemophilia at the same time.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hemophilia/hemophilia_what.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4111499
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hemophilia/hemophilia_treatments.html
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/02/18/35339.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanomedicine
