Extremity injuries affect thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan
Scientists hope to catch up with the great demand for treatments of battlefield limb injuries.
Elizabeth Armstrong Moore
Elizabeth Armstrong Moore is based in Portland, Oregon, and has written for Wired, The Christian Science Monitor, and public radio. Her semi-obscure hobbies include climbing, billiards, board games that take up a lot of space, and piano.
Ed Salau attempts to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier a few years after his leg was amputated at, and then above, the knee.
2 of 7 Photo courtesy of Ed Salau
In Iraq
Salau uses his prosthetic leg to his advantage in Iraq in 2009.
3 of 7 Sulbha K Sharma/Harvard
In the lab
Tianhong Dai at work in his lab testing UV-C light on mice.
4 of 7 UVComparison.Com
Killing bacteria
The cell inactivation curve in the image shows that UV-C is highly bactericidal, meaning capable of killing bacteria.
5 of 7 Image courtesy of Christopher T. Born
Femur implant
Orthopedic surgery Profesesor Christopher T. Born hopes to infuse metal implants like this one in a patient's femur with drug-like characteristics that fight infections.
6 of 7 Image courtesy of Yufeng Dong
Notch molecules
Notch molecules slow stem cell growth, enabling scientists to use them as building blocks to rebuild bone, cartilage, or tissue.
7 of 7 Photo courtesy of Airlift Research Foundation
Battlefield wound
Battlefield wounds can be especially messy, with multiple fractures and drug-resistant bacteria.
