Menu Close

Articles on Amputation

Displaying all articles

Tim Maloney

World’s earliest evidence of a successful surgical amputation found in 31,000-year-old grave in Borneo

An astonishing discovery from the oldest known grave in Southeast Asia has revised medical history – the previous known amputation surgery was just 7,000 years ago.
The brain responds differently to natural touch on a finger versus a direct electrical stimulation. Sebastian Kaulitzki/Science Photo Library

Restoring touch through electrodes implanted in the human brain will require engineering around a sensory lag

When designing neuroprosthetic devices for users to control with their thoughts, engineers must take into account the sensory information brains collect from the environment and how it gets processed.
Reactivating the signals cells use to regenerate could help patients regrow lost limbs and damaged tissue. George Jones/Stockbyte via Getty Images

A new treatment helped frogs regenerate their amputated legs – taking science one step closer to helping people regrow their body parts, too

Unlike humans, many animals are able to regenerate their limbs after losing them. Giving the body the right conditions for regrowth might allow people to recover lost limbs as well.
Testing new ways to navigate a complicated world. ETH Zurich/Alessandro Della Bella

Cybathlon: A bionics competition for people with disabilities

People with disabilities are often disappointed with their devices’ performance, and choose not to use them. To encourage innovation, a new competition tests assistive technologies.
How hard can it be? I’ve played Operation dozens of times. kosmos 111/Shutterstock.com

Is it ever a good idea to perform self-surgery?

Medical literature is full of stories of people who have operated on themselves. Surprisingly, some lived to tell the tale.

Top contributors

More