

Fracture Putty - DTrejo
http://www.darpa.mil/dso/thrusts/materials/biomat/fractureputty/index.htm

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a-priori
If this pans out, it could be revolutionary. They mention facial
reconstruction in passing. I once knew a woman who was in a car crash and had
to have one side of her face reconstructed a few years earlier. The surgeon
did a wonderful job, but it was still a long and painful process for her.

Another use I can think of is for after heart bypass surgery, or other surgery
where they have to crack the sternum. This putty could be used to fuse the
sternum back together, which would probably speed healing.

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sielskr
This will help not only soldiers but also those civilians who are prone to
fractures. I have a friend BTW who because of bone disease has experienced
over 100 bone fractures.

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DTrejo
What torture, I hope some crazy medical innovation is made that helps your
friend.

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absconditus
More information:

[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090127212101.ht...](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090127212101.htm)

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DanielBMarkham
Lots of upside here and little downside.

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jasonkester
Potential Downsides of the "Magic putty that fixes compound fractures in days
rather than months, and stops you needing to have your limbs amputated".

\- less hospital time, thus less time spent talking to pretty nurses

\- less crippling, thus less chance of lucrative disability claims

\- increased activity level, thus risking further injury to the affected limbs
(and limb fragments that would otherwise have been amputated and rendered safe
from further harm)

\- (possibly) increased risk of some minor form of cancer due to chemical side
effects of the Magic Putty That Makes It So They Don't Have To Chop Off Your
Legs

As you say, it's all about measuring the risks. Nobody can make the decision
for you.

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justin_vanw
So they are going to try to research something. Yea, well, let me tell you
some of the things I'll research (once my multi billions of dollars of
government funding roll in, like darpa).

A device that will tell you whenever you are in danger. It will be very
challenging, the ultimate convergence of electronics, sensors and psyonics.
When it is achieved, however, you will just have to wear a little necklace and
it will beep whenever you are in danger or someone is plotting against you.

A chemical fertilizer/insecticide/fungicide/candy that when applied to crops
kills all pest insects and increases growth 100000% with no harmful side
effects. It is also a delicious candy for children. Also the test scores of
children exposed to it will go up and they will be more polite.

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TrevorJ
Do you make fun of cancer research too? I find your comments to be in poor
taste.

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justin_vanw
There is no way to communicate, over the internet, how I feel about your
response here. You obviously did not understand the point of my post _at all_.
I have just typed a very long response, trying to explain my point, but I
became disgusted, because if you didn't get it the first time, you sortof
aren't ever going to.

I wasn't making fun of _what_ they were researching. I was making fun of the
fact they were making these incredibly grandiose claims about what they
intended to develop. Hey, anyone can make grandiose claims about what they
want to develop, it isn't interesting or news.

~~~
TrevorJ
Ah, I misunderstood your point in that case, apologies. As to what you where
intending to communicate, I definitely see where you are coming from on that
one. It's easy to make claims, but execution of an idea is always the rub.
This particular project does seem a bit more down-to-earth than a lot of the
other projects that seem to be getting defense funding these days.

