{"id":231652,"date":"2026-02-19T18:09:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/could-cyborg-transplants-replace-pancreatic-tissue-damaged-by-diabetes"},"modified":"2026-02-19T18:09:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:09:31","slug":"could-cyborg-transplants-replace-pancreatic-tissue-damaged-by-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/could-cyborg-transplants-replace-pancreatic-tissue-damaged-by-diabetes","title":{"rendered":"Could \u2018cyborg\u2019 transplants replace pancreatic tissue damaged by diabetes?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"aligncenter blog-photo\" href=\"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog.images\/could-cyborg-transplants-replace-pancreatic-tissue-damaged-by-diabetes.jpg\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A new electronic implant system can help lab-grown pancreatic cells mature and function properly, potentially providing a basis for novel, cell-based therapies for diabetes. The approach, developed by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the School of Engineering and Applied <i>Science<\/i>s at Harvard University, incorporates an ultrathin mesh of conductive wires into growing pancreatic tissue, according to a study <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.aeb3295\" target=\"_blank\">published<\/a> in Science.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe words \u2018bionic,\u2019 \u2018cybernetic,\u2019 \u2018cyborg,\u2019 all of those apply to the device we\u2019ve created,\u201d said Juan Alvarez, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology. While these terms may sound futuristic, he noted this approach is already in use in the form of deep brain stimulation, which treats neurological conditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is like deep stimulation for the pancreas. Just like pacemakers help the heart keep rhythm, controlled electrical pulses can help pancreatic cells develop and function the way they\u2019re supposed to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new electronic implant system can help lab-grown pancreatic cells mature and function properly, potentially providing a basis for novel, cell-based therapies for diabetes. The approach, developed by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, incorporates an ultrathin mesh [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":662,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1499,47,1501],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-231652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biotech-medical","category-cyborgs","category-neuroscience","category-transhumanism-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231652\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}