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Article: Body shop: a look at the science of bionics.
- Article from:
- The Evening Standard (London, England)
- Article date:
- January 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Will bionics turn people into superheroes? The science can't yet let amputees run and jump like The Six Million Dollar Man did in the old TV series. Nor is it even close to Detective Spooner's robot-kicking abilities in the book and movie I, Robot. But bionics is making a difference in real people's lives.
An Arm and a Leg
The first iron hand with flexible fingers appeared in 1504. But electronics, computers, and materials science have revolutionized the science of man-made body parts.
With computerized prosthetic hands, muscles in what's left of a patient's limb send signals to the hand. "The microprocessor converts that signal and makes the ...