|
Bionic Woman: Fact vs. FictionThe new-and-improved Jaime Sommers has all sorts of sweet sci-fi specs. We deconstruct Jaime’s new parts and take a look at some real bionic breakthroughs that blur the lines between science fact and fiction.by Mike Spitalieri 09/25/2007 
In one of the opening scenes of NBC's new series, Bionic Woman, a tractor trailer barrels into a Mercedes, flipping it end-over-end and careening into a traffic pole. Jaime Sommers, the passenger, is air-lifted to Wolf Creek Biotech Research Facility where scientists amputate her right arm and legs and remove her right eye and right ear. On TV, Jaime is fitted with bionic implants that grant her night vision, keen hearing, super-human healing, and incredible speed and strength.
In reality, doctors would be far more concerned with monitoring her vitals en route to a medical facility, restoring her sight and hearing, and fitting her with prosthetics to help her walk again. To find out where science fiction meets science fact, we interviewed scientists on the cutting edge of bionic technology. Turns out some of Bionic Woman's features aren't as far-fetched as you might think. Our Expert Panel Dr. Bob Shannon, head of Department of Auditory Implants and Perception Research, House Ear Institute, and research professor of Biomedical Engineering and Neuroscience at University of Southern California Dr. Anthony Guiseppi-Elie, director of the Clemson University Center for Bioelectronics, Biosensors, and Biochips Dr. Thomas Boland, associate professor of bioengineering at Clemson University Dr. Mark Humayun, professor of Ophthalmology, Biomedical Engineering, Cell and Neurobiology at the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California Dr. Todd Kuiken, director of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Neural Engineering Center for Bionic Medicine The Bionic Woman: Fact vs. Science Fiction >>
Featured Site Sponsors
|
 |
|
