ElectRX
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DARPA's new program plans to stimulate your nerves for self-healing
DARPA wants to modulate your nerves. The research agency's new Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRx) program is designed to discover the science and the technology that will stimulate the peripheral nervous system to detect and fight diseases. The nerves in this complex system are critical to all sensory and motor signal communications in the body. They constantly maintain and monitor your health status. When these nerves pick up a disruption, like an infection or injury, they trigger an automatic response in the brain or spinal cord that adjusts the workings of an affected organ to activate healing. But sometimes, when a disease compromises this natural flow of signals, the nerves produce a signal of pain or lead to autoimmune disorders, even diabetes. ElectRx is designed to address this glitch in the human system.
US researching implants that'll help your body and mind heal itself
America's mad science division is at it again, this time imagining a future where your body won't need (as much) medicine to stay healthy, simply by using the resources it already has. Put simply, a person's peripheral nervous system runs the internal organs and summons the troops to fight off infections and repair injuries. DARPA's just received $78.9 million of funding to look into harnessing this system to develop a miniscule implant that'd not only make people healthier and less prone to disease, but could also be used to treat mental health complaints like post traumatic stress disorder in the future.
