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N EURO N A N OT EC H N O LO GY: FROM M I N D I M AGI N G TO B RAI N RE PA I R Trilce MarĂa Fernanda Ortega HernĂĄndez Biologist, neuroscientist, and researcher in neuroethology in non-human primates at the Instituto de NeuroetologĂa of the Universidad Veracruzana
Ever since the speculations of ancient philosophers and the first studies of the human nervous system, we have been fascinated by this mysterious black box that connects us to the surrounding world. The path to understanding how it functions has been arduous, and many scientists think that we are far from having discovered everything that this most astonishing of biological machines, with its countless cellular connections, is able to do. The human brain, however, is able to conceive and create tools to study and to heal itself. One of these creations of the human mind is bionanotechnology, used in the fabrication of materials, composites, and machines with biocompatible structures no larger than 100 nanometers, to be used in medical diagnosis, therapy, and surgery, and offering more efficient and less invasive alternatives. Much of this technology has already been tested both in vitro and in vivo (on animals), but
RESEARCH
there is still much to learn and better understand about the processes of biological systems as complex as the human brain. The brain does not only interconnect our entire body, but also connects us with the environment around us, drawing sensorial information from our surroundings, codifying it in an electronic language, and translating it on demand to enable us to interact with our environment and to survive within it. Marvelous as it is, however, our brain remains exposed to damage, deficiencies, and eventual death. Nanotechnology can be a tool for understanding how the brain functions, for treating pathologies and disorders in the brain, and possibly even for raising it to a higher cognitive level and taking it beyond the barriers of death.
