MEDICAL SCIENCE OR SCIENCE FICTION? LU We're always hoping for the next medical miracle - like a simple pill that ean cure cancer. Often we hear of breakthroughs in medical science that sound almost too good to be true. However, sometimes they teally are as good as they say they are. Here are five inventions from the world of medical science. If they sound like science fiction, that just means that the future is here ~ now. Bind people can sae with a video carnera that traremits mages to te back of her eyes. ‘2, Aperson's genes can be changed, su they slop eating food that makes therm overweight Hospital patients can wear electronic skin to send ratio wraves from their body to machines. 4, During an operation, t's Hkely that a compotar ‘abla wil care for you, 5 Medical scientists aw cose to nding @ vaccine Te a iaibele! pa ‘sight could see again? This is already happening. for some blind people. A small devioe is put in | sno be possible to prevent people rom the back part ofa blind person's eye. They then suring for food allergies. ‘wear special sunglasses with a camera, which transmits images‘e the devies. isn'ta perfect 77 econ devices paced inthe chests of astra ees rere cel cee sufferers con permanent cure the illness. or ie aan between black and white socks, & A:small electronic device put in the brain of an epilaney euflerer can stp ther from having seinres,2 Hs all about comfort In hospital, patients often complain about all the uncomfortable cables and wires that connect them to monitors. It's now possible to get nd of all this wiring simply byy putting on electronic ekin. This piece of ‘skin’ is vary emall and very thin. Reed bees ofS xeinge earn atl ee Meicieae a ec of human hai. It's made of silicon and is attached using water in the same way that a fake tattoo Is. Despite being extremely small and thin, the skin contains electronic circuits that can receive and send radio waves to and from menitors. It.can also be used to help heal wounds by sending out heat that speeds. Up the repair process. 3 Under the care of three During an operation, there's always a surgeon in the operating theatre and an anaesthetist, whose job is to check the patient Constantly. In the past, the anaesthetist had to watch the patient carefully, but these days they are also likely to use a touchscreen computer like a tablet. This tablet monitors key functions like breathing and heart rate, but more importantly, it can send the anaesthetist warnings and suggest how medication should be altered during the operation, It also keaps a record of everything the surgeon does. So these days, when you have an operation, you're under the care of three ‘professionals’: the surgeon, the anaesthetist and the tablet. 4 Sometimes a matter of life and death ifs surprising how many people are allergic to different kinds of food. Somatimes this can be life-threatening, for example for people who ara allergic to peanuts, Scientists at Northwestern University in Chicaga have found a way to tum off an allergy fo peanuts. They attached some peanut protein to blood cells and ‘eintroduced them into the body of someone suffering from the allergy, This makes the body think that peanuts are no longer a thea and theres no ali response. Scien thnk this ‘approach could be used with a wide range ‘of food allergies, § Warning signs People who suffer trom epilepsy ‘fever know when they-are going to ‘have an attack. This lack of certainty an be very stressful. Researchers ‘have now created a device that ‘Makes an epileptic seizure predictable, These very small ‘devices: are planted in the brain. They're able to tel if an attack ‘about to happen and they 1. Fnewrinbh nf Cambrian tiniwahiihy Brace 1%