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The emergence of robotic body augmentation provides exciting innovations that will revolutionize the fields of robotics, human-machine interaction and wearable electronics. Although augmentative devices such as extra robotic arms and fingers are informed by restorative technologies in many ways, they also introduce unique challenges for bidirectional human-machine collaboration. Can humans adapt and learn to operate a new robotic limb collaboratively with their biological limbs, without restricting other physical abilities? To successfully achieve robotic body augmentation, we need to ensure that, by giving a user an additional (artificial) limb, we are not trading off the functionalities of an existing (biological) one. Here, we introduce the 'neural resource allocation problem' and discuss how to allow the effective voluntary control of augmentative devices without compromising control of the biological body. In reviewing the relevant literature on extra robotic fingers and arms, we critically assess the range of potential solutions available for this neural resource allocation problem. For this purpose, we combine multiple perspectives from engineering and neuroscience with considerations including human-machine interaction, sensory-motor integration, ethics and law. In summary, we aim to define common foundations and operating principles for the successful implementation of robotic body augmentation., The development of extra fingers and arms is an exciting research area in robotics, human-machine interaction and wearable electronics. It is unclear, however, whether humans can adapt and learn to control extra limbs and integrate them into a new sensorimotor representation, without sacrificing their natural abilities. The authors review this topic and describe challenges in allocating neural resources for robotic body augmentation.

The rationalism of the seventeenth century inaugurated a new way of thinking to establish that access to the world occurred through rationality. The individualist conception of society that emerged from the eighteenth century, despite having placed the subject in the center, made it from its psychic dimension, relegating the biological body to the second place. In the twentieth century however, Freud recalls the theme of the body to enter again the individual in his materialistic body. Therefore, it was restored and deepened the theme of meat, carcass, organic and biological body. Thus, the present study aims, from the hypothetical-deductive method, to analyze the (im)possibility of body regulation, especially the female one, by the contemporary law, and its practical implications for women to, in the end, conclude that the body and their narratives are at the root of inequality and gender oppression. El racionalismo del siglo XVII inauguró un nuevo pensamiento que establecía que el acceso al mundo ocurría a través de la racionalidad. La concepción individualista de la sociedad que emergió del siglo XVIII, pese a haber colocado al sujeto en el centro, lo había hecho desde su dimensión psíquica, relegando el cuerpo biológico a un segundo plano. En el siglo XX, en cambio, Freud recupera el tema del cuerpo y resitúa al individuo en su cuerpo material. Por tanto, los temas de la carne, carcasa, y cuerpo orgánico y biológico se restauran y se profundiza en ellos. Así pues, este artículo pretende analizar, a través del método hipotético-deductivo, la (im)posibilidad de regular el cuerpo, especialmente el femenino, por el derecho contemporáneo, y las implicaciones prácticas para las mujeres. Finalmente, concluimos que el cuerpo y sus narrativas están en la raíz de la desigualdad y de la opresión de género. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1173

This study reflects the development and transformation strategies of the anthropological situation in the context of technological progress. The change of the natural way of human existence to the technogenic method of communication leads to the formation of the image of «a virtual personality». The process of assimilation of natural and artificial takes place. Ethical alternatives of the human existence as a species within the Technosphere and the preservation of their humanistic imperative through the bodily projections of the personality are considered. Co-evolution of man and the Technosphere leads to a new way of their interaction and generates Technogenic Anthropology. The study of corporeality in various areas of human life is reflected in its ontological disclosure through the nominal classification: «biological body», «social body», «cultural body», and «virtual body». Plasticity is revealed as the main value and quality, which provides self-reflection in various forms of communication of modern man.

This article consists of a phenomenological refection about the indigence of our time. It discusses another understanding of the harm that the current moment has been causing to the human being, when instilling a life model offered since modernity, that involves several concerns, creating new pathologies. It is a historical movement, known as Nihilism, that gave us a “new dwelling place”, one that, paradoxically, shows itself as a non-dwelling-place, a non-place, namely, a strange place. Existing restlessness such as tiredness, stress, anxiety, boredom, melancholy, depression, etc., are present at this place. However, these existencial crisis are interpreted by the natural sciences as something that is solely inherent to the biological body. This interpretation is widely questioned here, since we understand that these phenomena will only be properly understood through the existential analytic of the human existence, since this entity is constituted as a being which temporality is the horizon., Este trabalho consiste em uma reflexão hermenêutico-fenomenológica sobre a indigência do nosso tempo. Traz, na verdade, uma outra compreensão acerca dos malefícios que o atual momento tem causado ao ser humano ao imprimir um modelo de vida oferecido desde a modernidade e que implicou em uma série de inquietações, criando novas patologias. Trata-se de um movimento histórico, conhecido por Niilismo, que nos deu uma “nova morada”, a qual, paradoxalmente, se mostra como não morada, um não-lugar, ou seja, um lugar estranho. Nesse lugar, residem desassossegos vigentes, como cansaço, stress, ansiedade, tédio, melancolia, depressão etc. Todavia, essas crises existenciais são interpretadas pelas ciências naturais como algo exclusivamente inerente ao corpo biológico dado. Essa interpretação é amplamente questionada aqui ao compreender que tais fenômenos só serão devidamente compreendidos mediante a analítica existencial do ser-aí humano, haja vista esse ente constituir-se como um ser-no-mundo que tem como horizonte a temporalidade.

Implantable and wearable materials, which are usually used in/on a biological body, are mostly needed with biomimetic self-healing function. To enable repeatable large-wound self-healing and volume/structure recovery, we verified a proof-of-concept approach in this work. We design a polymer hydrogel that combines temperature responsiveness with an intrinsic self-healing ability through host-guest orthogonal self-assembly between two types of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) oligomers. The result is thermosensitive, capable of fast self-repair of microcracks based on reversible host-guest assembly. More importantly, when a large open wound appears, the hydrogel can first close the wound via volume swelling and then completely self-repair the damage in terms of intrinsic self-healing. Meanwhile, its original volume can be easily recovered by subsequent contraction. As demonstrated by the experimental data, such millimeter-level wound self-healing and volume recovery can be repeatedly carried out in response to the short-term cooling stimulus. With low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility, moreover, this highly intelligent hydrogel is greatly promising for practical large-wound self-healing in wound dressing, electronic skins, wearable biosensors, and humanoid robotics, which can tolerate large-scale human motions.

espanolAnalizamos en este articulo la ontologia y la prospectiva del sujeto etico en la obra de Giorgio Agamben, centrandonos particularmente en su concepcion del humano como resto o escision constitutiva, y su apropiacion de la figura de Bartleby el escribiente como figura paradigmatica de una etica posible. Frente al sujeto etico asi delineado, que nuestro analisis comprende como deudor de una nocion no foucaultiana de los dispositivos, ofrecemos una lectura de autores como Jose Luis Villacanas, Georges Canguilhem o Jean-Luc Nancy en torno a un cuerpo biologico que no puede o no debe ser pensado como pasividad inoperante. EnglishWe analyse in this article the ontology and the prospective of the ethical subject in the work of Giorgio Agamben, focusing particularly on his conception of the human as a rest or constitutive caesura, and his appropriation of the figure of Bartleby the Scrivener as a paradigmatic figure of a possible ethics. Against the ethical subject thus delineated, which our analysis understands as a debtor of a non-foucaultian notion of dispositives, we offer a reading of authors such as Jose Luis Villacanas, Georges Canguilhem or Jean-Luc Nancy thinking about a biological body that cannot, or it must not be thought of as inoperative passivity.

The occurrence of a prolonged degradation process due to the presence of microcracks is majorly responsible for the failure in the composites. These failures degrade the reliability and endurance of the composites. Decentralized repairing of composites is impossible in remote areas. Self-repairing of the composites is the only alternative approach that can be a potential medium for healing the cracks. Self-healing composites are based on the working of the human biological body. The human body can repair the injured tissues without external stimuli. However, the self-healing task in composites requires the incorporation of self-healing properties externally. The consequences of these failures have led various researchers to study smart materials that can heal themselves and regenerate their functions to increase their endurance. Self-healing and self-repair composites are made up of a novel group of materials that can restore their properties when a failure is occurred. These materials have gathered strong attention over the past two decades due to the wide range of benefits of these materials. Self-healing is classified into two groups: (1) autonomic (without intervention), and (2) nonautonomic (with human intervention). Self-healing materials respond to the damage quickly and restore the mechanical properties of the material after self-healing. Some major applications of self-healing materials are biomedical, aerospace, concrete, coatings, and epoxy. Thus this chapter gives an overview on different self-healing mechanisms developed for the production of smart materials.

As alternatives to nanozymes, some metal ions have been used in chemical/biochemical sensors owing to their facile acquisition avoiding tedious preparation and purification. Ce4+ has been reported to possess oxidase-like activity. Ascribed to its strong oxidative ability, Ce4+ can trigger the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to its blue product oxTMB without the requirement of H2O2. When ALDS is added, the oxidation ability of Ce4+ can be reduced because of the redox reaction between Ce4+ and ALDS. The absorbance intensity ascribed to oxTMB decreases followed by the fading of the solution. On the basis of such a mechanism, a simple method is proposed for monitoring ALDS in two linear ranges of 0.1–10.0 μM and 10.0–60.0 μM. The detection limit is low to 0.05 μM. Furthermore, this method exhibits great potential for ALDS detection in real biological body fluids and pharmaceutical samples.

Over the past decade, a critical mass of feminist scholars has been working to develop new ways of understanding the complex interactions between the social and biological body. Working broadly under the umbrella of ‘new materialisms,’ a subgroup of feminist scholars is proposing alternative non-dualistic models for engaging with biology, corporeality, science, and matter. In this study, we take inspiration from this body of literature, and particularly Samantha Frost’s recent concept of ‘biocultural creatures’ to explore the complex entanglements between sporting cultures and women’s biological bodies. In conceiving of biology differently, this study reveals the dynamism and plasticity of the biocultural sporting body and reveals sportswomen as active agents in these processes. Interviews with sportswomen in two different sporting cultures—endurance multi-sport events (triathlon and Ironman) and rugby sevens—offer rich insights into how different body ideals, physical requirements, support structures, and performance cultures intra-act with women’s biological bodies, and particularly their embodied experiences of the health condition known as Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). Ultimately, this study reveals sportswomen as biocultural creatives, “constantly composing, decomposing and recomposing” (Frost 2016, p. 149) in response to their engagement with distinctive sporting habitats.

Space travel and becoming an interplanetary species have always been part of human’s greatest imagination. Research in space exploration helps us advance our knowledge in fundamental sciences, and challenges us to design new technology and create new industries for space. However, keeping a human healthy, happy and productive in space is one of the most challenging aspects of current space programs. Our biological body, which evolved in the earth specific environment, can barely survive by itself in space’s extreme conditions with high radiation, low gravity, etc. This is similar for the moons and planets in the solar system that humans plan to visit. Therefore, researchers have been developing different types of human-computer interfaces systems that support humans’ physical and mental performance in space. With recent advancements in aerospace engineering, and the democratized access to space through aerospace tech startups such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, etc., space research is becoming more plausible and accessible. Thus, there is an exciting opportunity for researchers in HCI to contribute to the great endeavor of space exploration by designing new types of interactive systems and computer interfaces that can support humans living and working in space and elsewhere in the solar system.

Microwaves must be coupled into the biological body and energy must be transferred, deposited, and absorbed by tissues in the body for the system to respond in some manner. The exposure may produce highly complicated distributions of RF and microwave energy within the subject, regardless of the uniformity of external exposure. Dosimetry is defined as the quantification of RF and microwave energy distribution and absorption in biological bodies. This chapter discusses the dosimetry of RF and microwaves in planar, spheroidal, and anatomical models of biological bodies. These topics are complex functions of not only the exposure sources and scenario but also the shape, size, composition, and structures of the exposed subjects, as well as orientation and position of the subject with respect to the source.

This paper describes how music fulfills two of its broadly recognized functions—“mood regulation” and “social cohesion”—in times of pandemics and social isolation. Through a trans-historical comparison of the musical activities of the Milanese during an outbreak of plague in 1576 with the musical activities observed during the COVID lockdowns in 2020 (such as balcony-singing and playlist-making), this paper suggests a framework for understanding the role of music in the care of the biological body and the social body in times of medical disaster.

Exosomes are ubiquitous nanovesicles considered as biological body language. They are deeply involved in prostate cancer (PC), from its initiation until angiogenesis, and metastasis. Recent studies sensed the crucial value of exosomes and could imagine the important link between those nanoparticles, enhancing the diagnosis and treatments against PC. Although the emperical level of studies achieved until today, pore data have been collected about exosome’s mechanistic in PC. Therefore, through this review, we would like to shed light on the recent knowledge of the role of exosomes in PC and the recent applications of exosomes in enhancing the efficacities of diagnosis and therapies to beat PC.

This article explores, based on the problem of the body and its biological constituents, the question of the movement of “wanting to be”, based on the work_O Segundo Sexo, by Simone de Beauvoir. We investigated how the philosopher reaches the genesis of the submission of women, according to the perspective of biology and which are the biological references that allowed men to recognize women as the Other. This also affirms and shows that the biological body is the starting point of all the analysis of the philosopher who produced a conceptual set, rigorously philosophical, of the body submitted to society. Finally, we argue that the analysis of biological data, carried out by Beauvoir in the light of existentialist philosophy, was essential for the unfolding of the various conceptions that guide contemporary feminism.

A person's internal representation of his/her body is not fixed. It can be substantially modified by neurological injuries and can also be extended (in healthy participants) to incorporate objects that have a corporeal appearance (such as fake body segments, e.g. a rubber hand), virtual whole bodies (e.g. avatars), and even objects that do not have a corporeal appearance (e.g. tools). Here, we report data from patients and healthy participants that emphasize the flexible nature of body representation and question the extent to which incorporated objects have the same functional properties as biological body parts. Our data shed new light by highlighting the involvement of visual motion information from incorporated objects (rubber hands, full body avatars and hand-held tools) in the perception of one's own movement (kinesthesia). On the basis of these findings, we argue that incorporated objects can be treated as body parts, especially when kinesthesia is involved.

El mind uploading es el acto de transferir una mente de su sustrato original (el cuerpo biológico de la persona) a otro sustrato, que puede ser también biológico, o bien robótico o incluso digital. Esta propuesta se enmarca en el movimiento transhumanista y tiene como objetivo último la inmortalidad personal más allá de la duración temporal del cuerpo biológico. La tesis de este artículo es que el mind uploading es una propuesta que se presenta principalmente como tecnológica, pero que, en realidad, tiene implicaciones a muchos otros niveles: antropológico, cultural, político, etc., por lo que requiere una reflexión más profunda. Por ello, se analizan en este artículo dos dimensiones del mind-uploading: su posibilidad real de realización y su deseabilidad, sin pretender tanto dar respuestas finales como suscitar preguntas que se dan muchas veces por descontadas.

Background In degenerative brain diseases like Parkinson's disease (PD), alpha-synuclein (a-syn) can be in its monomeric (a-syn-mono) or toxic oligomeric (a-syn-oligo) or as a total (a-syn-total) forms in the biological body fluids including saliva. Past research has observed major a-syn plasma variations in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) pointing toward brain degenerative components in their pathophysiology. No prior study has shown a-syn levels in ASD patients' saliva. Objective This study estimates the levels of alpha-synuclein monomer (a-syn-mono) and alpha-synuclein oligomer (a-syn-oligo) in the saliva of ASD affected children so that saliva can be a method for detecting disorder. Materials and methods This cross-sectional, multi-center study was conducted in Islamic International Medical College, Autism Resource Centre (ARC), and Step-to-learn Rehabilitation center for the slow learner in Rawalpindi. The research was performed for one year from August 2018 to August 2019. Saliva samples from 80 children (40 ASD affected children, and 40 age- and sex-comparable healthy controls) were collected. Specific anti-alpha-synuclein monomers (anti-a-syn-mono) and anti-alpha-synuclein oligomers (anti-a-syn-oligo) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits analyzed the salivary samples. Mean ± SD were reported for quantitative data. The data between the two groups were compared using an independent t-test. The p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 80 children were included in the study (n=40 ASD affected, n=40 healthy controls). The age of participating children was between four and eight years. The mean alpha-synuclein monomer level in the saliva of ASD children was 92.03 ± 117.09 pg/ml (p≤0.05), and in healthy subjects was 186.78 ± 239.31 ρg/ml. The levels of alpha-synuclein oligomer in the saliva of patients with ASD children were 0.13 ± 0.05 ng/ml (p

In biological tissue, there are different kinds of endogenous chromophores. Their absorption spectra in the optical range are sensitive to the physiological change of the animal body. In the near-infrared region (700-1200 nm wavelength), hemoglobin has a characteristic absorption spectrum which is dependent on its redox state. Therefore, the functional information inside the animal body could be obtained noninvasively by measuring the transmitted light. By detecting the change of the absorption characteristics of the animal body, the functional change inside the body can be detected in a two-dimensional transillumination image. In this paper, we propose preliminary research on developing a novel imaging modality of biological body parts. Using the two-dimensional images obtained in many different orientations, three-dimensional physiological function imaging of the biological body by transillumination could be expected. This paper presents a preliminary result in the experiment to show the feasibility of this technique.

To use 19F imaging tracer (19FIT-27) to evaluate kinetics in major organs. Kinetics studies using proton MRI are difficult because of low concentration of 19FIT-27 protons relative to background water protons. Because there is no background source of 19F NMR in a biological body, 19F may be an ideal nucleus to directly trace 19FIT-27. However, there are several challenges for reliable 19F MR imaging and spectroscopy, particularly with clinical whole-body MRI systems, which include low concentrations and long 19F T1. We performed a dynamic 19F MRI study on mice at a 3T whole-body MRI system using a homemade transmit/receive (Tx/Rx) switch and a Tx/Rx volume RF coil. We used a newly developed fluorine imaging agent, which has 27 identical fluorine atoms with identical chemical shift, a relatively short T1, and high hydrophilicity. Basic kinetics parameters were estimated from the 19F signal-time curve. Resultant fluorine images show fairly high spatial (3 × 3 × 3 mm3) and temporal resolutions. Biodistribution and kinetics of 19FIT-27 are obtained via 19F images for major uptake organs. Whole-body dynamic 19F MRI of newly developed 19FIT-27 in mice was obtained with fairly high spatial and temporal resolutions on a 3T clinical MRI system. The present study demonstrates the feasibility of 19F MRI using our newly developed compound to investigate major organ kinetics.

This paper analyses two metaphors used to explain reproduction in Spain's popular medical literature of the 1950s and 1960s, that is, during the middle decades of the Franco dictatorship (1939–1975). By exploring metaphors and advice manuals, I study how knowledge about sexuality is disclosed to non-specialist audiences, and how this reinforces hegemonic discourses that sustain power relations and naturalize gender hierarchies. Precisely the status of advice literature as a hybrid genre makes it an interesting source to study the use of gendered metaphors. The intention to educate common people is evident in a language that uses clear analogies and familiar associations that appeal to common sense and are supposed to be effortlessly grasped by the intended audience. Particularly, I discuss two examples that rely on both textual and visual allegories. On the one hand, I explore the concept of menstruation as a cyclical defeat, which conveys and reinforces assumptions about women's bodies and roles that fit well with the gender politics of the Franco regime. On the other hand, I asses the depiction of the egg and the sperm through the simile of fertilization as a wedding. This image reflects widespread preconceptions about love, marriage, and sex. I argue that, since symbolic representations play a crucial role in shaping gender inequalities, an inquiry of such discourses help us identify those symbols that naturalize stereotypes and allows us to problematize strategies that perpetuate power relations.

Introduction For developing a hardness multipoint measurement system for understanding hardness distribution on biological body surfaces, we investigated the spring strength of the contact portion main axis of a biological tissue hardness meter (product name: PEK). Methods We measured the hardness of three-layered sheets of six types of gel sheets (90 mm × 60 mm × 6 mm) constituting the acupuncture practice pads, with PEK measurements of 1.96 N, 2.94 N, 3.92 N, 4.90 N, 5.88 N, 6.86 N, 7.84 N, 8.82 N, and 9.81 N of the main axis spring strength. We obtained measurements 10 times for the gel sheets and simultaneously measured the load using a digital scale. We measured the hardness distribution of induration embedded and breast cancer palpation models, with a main axis with 1.96 N, 4.90 N, and 9.81 N spring strengths, to create a two-dimensional Contour Fill Chart. Results Using 4.90 N spring strength, we could obtain measurement loads of ≤3.0 N, and the mean hardness was 5.14 mm. This was close to the median of the total measurement range 0.0–10.0 mm, making the measurement range the largest for this spring strength. We could image the induration of the induration-embedded model regardless of the spring strength. Conclusion Overall, 4.90 N spring strength was best suited for imaging cancer in the breast cancer palpation model.

The hard problem of consciousness lies in explaining what constitutes the subjectivity of consciousness. I argue that significant headway can be made on the problem from an embodied mind view, and particularly if we turn to William James’ theory of emotions. The challenge is one of explaining how bodily subjectivity arises from biological processes. I argue that the solution to this problem lies in our sense of interoception, and James’ theory which suggests emotional feelings are the cascade of changing bodily states. Through James’ account, I show how the biological body can give rise to a bodily subjectivity in experiential consciousness, and thus move towards a solution of the hard problem.

The life sciences are generating a transformative view of the biological body not as fixed and innate but as permeable to its environment and, therefore, plastic: development is open and malleable. Emblematic of these new sciences is environmental epigenetics, which investigates environmental factors that come into the body to shape expression of genes across the life course; prominent are environmental exposures during fetal development, which epigeneticists propose influence not only birth outcomes but also lifelong health. How does this new emphasis on permeability and plasticity during fetal development change how the fetus and fetal vulnerability are understood in the current scientific literature? Perspectives on genomic and reproductive temporality help conceptualize environmental epigenetics as a dynamic relationship between plasticity and determinism. This epigenetic temporality links past, present, and future in way that gives the fetus a keystone role as the vulnerable space-time of env...

As a highly promising interdisciplinary field in the life sciences, synthetic biology bridges such diverse disciplines as molecular biology, organic chemistry, IT, and engineering in order to create biological systems which do not exist in nature. As any emerging technology, synthetic biology is accompanied by many hopes and fears, amongst which the way in which it connects to medicine, and specifically how the biological body is viewed and treated, is equally rousing and provoking. The reality of the lab is one thing, another is the vision(s) of the future which synthetic biology inspires: equally fantastic and fundamentally human. Here we analyse several short films from the repository of the BIO·FICTION Science Art Film Festival, a festival which focuses on synthetic biology. The selected films engage with the human body and cover themes such as fantastical cross-species imaginations, the development of new organs, and future forms of geriatric care. Our analysis of these (semi)fictional films, which illustrate cultural reflections of the technological advances brought forth by synthetic biology, serves as a first exploration of how corporeality and the human body is imagined and displayed in these imaginary worlds, and what that might imply about how we view the human body in the present.

Nowadays manufacturing enterprises are forced to have manufacturing systems that can support the agile response to emergence and changing conditions. In a biological body, the neuroendocrine-immune system plays very important roles to control and modulate the adaptive behaviours using mutual regulation principles. Inspired by the regulation principles of the biological body, a novel concept of Bio-Inspired Manufacturing System (BIMS) is proposed which can agilely deal with the frequent occurrence of unexpected disturbances at the shop floor level. The control model of BIMS is described from the cybernetics point of view.

Recent developments in wearable technology can help people with disabilities regain their lost capabilities, merging their biological body with robotic enhancements. Myoelectric prosthetic hands, for example, allow amputees to perform basic daily-life activities by sensing and analyzing electric activity from their residual limbs, which is then used to actuate a robotic hand. These new developments not only bring back lost functionalities, but can also provide humanly impossible capabilities, turning those who were considered disabled to become super-abled. The next frontier of Robotic Musicianship research at Georgia Tech focuses on the development of wearable robotic limbs that allow not only amputees, but able-bodied people as well, to play music like no human can, with virtuosity and speed that are humanly impossible. This chapter addresses the promises and challenges of the new frontier of wearable robotic musicians, from a Robotic Prosthetic Drumming Arm that contains a drumming stick with a “mind of its own”, to a “Third Arm” that augments able-bodied drummers, to the Skywalker Piano Hand that uses deep learning predictions from ultrasound muscle data to allow amputees to play the piano using dexterous and expressive finger gestures.

In the preceding chapter, the possibilities to couple experiments with computation techniques to characterize and optimize the performance of a drug delivery system have been described. In fact, while it is important to address the problems with the physical properties of a drug delivery system for optimal delivery performance, the impact of the physiological, bio-chemical and chemical barriers within the biological system on the efficiency of systemic drug delivery should not be overlooked, either. Keeping this in mind, in this chapter we will give an overview of the various physiological, chemical and bio-chemical barriers in systemic drug delivery, using oral drug delivery route as an example. We will also discuss the challenges in drug delivery to specific targets such as solid tumors and brain since these targets pose unique barriers that need specific knowledge on to tweak them suitably for enhanced drug delivery and achieve therapeutic benefit for several life-threatening illnesses and incurable disorders. It is hoped that, with more awareness of the various barriers in systemic drug delivery and any issue with the drug property, potential losses of therapeutics in a biological body can be minimized and the efficiency of therapies can be increased at the clinical level.

This chapter argues that speculative fiction is a mode for reflecting on how the imagination informs scientific research, technological development, and the social changes they sustain. Crucially, imaginative texts serve not only as incubators for scientific advances, but also enable us to reflect on the kinds of futures we wish, collectively, to create. It reads Ben Winter’s Underground Airlines and Carola Dibbell’s The Only Ones to demonstrate how speculative fiction helps to keep the impact of cultural biases on sociotechnical change in view. Both novels offer visions of futures made possible by biotechnology, critiquing the ways this new industry enables intensified exploitation of labor by commodifying parts and processes of the biological body. Such practices mirror and repeat histories of gendered and racialized exploitation.