Nanofibers: Not Just For Eve Online Anymore

I've spent a good portion of my time figuring out how to fit my cargo-carrying ships and Nanofiber Internal Structure II modules always seem to wind up in my fits.  I have a need for speed in wanting to get places fast.  Maybe that's just natural for all Minmatar pilots.  I don't know.  But as I surf the internet, I'm discovering that nanofibers are not just some futuristic material that someone at CCP concocted.

On Monday, Technology Review published an article on how nanofiber could help to repair tissue after a heart attack and aid transplants.

"Regenerating blood vessels is important for combating the aftereffects of a heart attack or peripheral arterial disease, and for ensuring that transplanted organs receive a sufficient supply of blood. Now researchers at Northwestern University have created a nanomaterial that could help the body to grow new blood vessels.

"Samuel Stupp and his colleagues developed a liquid that, when injected into patients, forms a matrix of loosely tangled nanofibers. Each of these fibers is covered in microscopic protuberances that mimic vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF—a protein that occurs naturally in the body and causes chemical reactions that result in the growth of new blood vessels. By mimicking VEGF, the nanofiber has the same biological effect."

This type of technology was the stuff of science-fiction when I was young.  Now we may find it in doctors' offices instead of video games.  To quote a blogger from Tennessee, "faster, please".  (h/t Instapundit)