The Maharal of Prague would be probably not very surprised to see this medical Golem : The 3D heart
Reported October 11, 2013
3D Hearts: Medicine’s Next Big Thing?STANFORD, Cali. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Stents, balloons, artificial valves; there are more life-saving heart devices than ever, but a new discovery is taking cardiovascular innovations to the next level. Now, scientists have created a 3D heart that’s one-of-a-kind. Every year, half a million Americans will have some type of heart surgery. Researchers at Stanford University are printing 3D models that are an exact replica of a patient’s heart. “If you look at the complexity and the detail of what we have, it’s extraordinary,” Paul J. Wang, MD, Professor of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics, told Ivanhoe. First, they take CT images and load them onto a computer. A software program converts the data into layers. The printer then creates the heart out of hot plastic. “So, the printer is just printing layer by layer to build up a 3D solid,” Jeff Caves, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stanford University, told Ivanhoe. The 3D heart could allow doctors to fit devices like catheters, stents, and valves to the exact dimensions of a patient’s heart. Surgeons could also test different options in advance, making procedures safer for patients. “When you can actually put a device inside the heart and see how it behaves, that gives you another set of confidence that it’s likely to work in a human,” Dr. Wang said. It’s an innovation that could change the game when it comes to heart care. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Dr. Wang said. Dr. Wang says there is other research going on using 3D printing, combined with living cells and other biological material. The goal is to one day print functioning human organs. MORE.
Zie essay hieronder en dan zult u de titel begrijpen |
The Maharal of Prague [ Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the Maharal of Prague (1513-1609) must have also been a master of Kabbalah, for most of the legends concerning him speak of his knowledge of the divine creation and the hidden ways of G-d. The Maharal was credited with being a miracle worker. The most famous story is that of the Golem which he created out of clay and which he brought to life by the use of G-d's holy name. The Maharal averted many calamities and blood-libels through the Golem. Every Friday evening, he would remove the sacred amulet bearing the name of G-d from the Golem, in order that it might not profane the Sabbath. When the Golem had performed his mission, the Maharal laid it away in the attic of the Prague Synagogue. In later years, a statue of Der Hohe Rabbi Uwe, created by a famous Czech sculptor, was placed before the new city hall of Prague.
Few among the great men of Jewish history have been the subject of so many popular legends as Rabbi Judah ben Bezalel of Prague. He was said to possess great powers. One legend tells of the Maharal's having shown the emperor his far-off castle by television. Another one tells of the Maharal having brought down the spirits of the twelve sons of Jacob in the presence of the emperor.
But the Maharal has not become so revered a figure amongst the Jewish people because of his supernatural powers. To us, he is the man who during one of the trying periods of Jewish history has done so much for his Jewish brethren, who was their spiritual leader and their spokesman, and who in his writings has left us a wealth of deep Jewish thought and moral teachings. We do not think of the Maharal as of the creator of the Golem, but rather of the light he has brought toTorah students and of the source of inspiration and faith contained in his ethical writings.