miniPUMP heart-on-a-chip pumps liquid using real human heart cells
When conducting cardiac research, it would be ideal if experiments could be performed on actual living human hearts. Scientists have developed what may be the next-best thing, in the form of a tiny mechanical heart powered by real cardiac cells.Created by a team at Boston University, the flat-bodied "cardiac miniaturized Precision-enabled Unidirectional Microfluidic Pump" – or miniPUMP, for short – measures just 3 sq cm (0.5 sq in). It replicates the function of a real heart's ventricle (lower chamber), pumping water…