Editing Engineering (section)

===Medicine and biology===
[[File:Modern_3T_MRI.JPG|thumb|left|250px|A 3 tesla clinical [[MRI scanner]]]]
The study of the human body, albeit from different directions and for different purposes, is an important common link between medicine and some engineering disciplines. [[Medicine]] aims to sustain, repair, enhance and even replace functions of the [[human body]], if necessary, through the use of [[technology]].

[[File:GFP Mice 01.jpg|thumb|right|Genetically engineered mice expressing [[green fluorescent protein]], which glows green under blue light. The central mouse is [[wild-type]].]]
Modern medicine can replace several of the body's functions through the use of artificial organs and can significantly alter the function of the human body through artificial devices such as, for example, [[brain implant]]s and [[pacemakers]].<ref name="Boston U">{{Cite web |url=http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Bioe/BioeMcGe.htm |title=Ethical Assessment of Implantable Brain Chips. Ellen M. McGee and G.Q. Maguire, Jr. from Boston University |access-date=March 30, 2007 |archive-date=April 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407064911/http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Bioe/BioeMcGe.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="IEEE foreign parts">{{Cite journal |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1204814 |title=Foreign parts (electronic body implants) | quote=Feeling threatened by cyborgs? |journal=IEE Review |date=May 2003 |volume=49 |issue=5 |pages=30–33 |doi=10.1049/ir:20030503 |access-date=March 3, 2020 |last1=Evans-Pughe |first1=C. |doi-broken-date=December 7, 2024 }}</ref> The fields of [[bionics]] and medical bionics are dedicated to the study of synthetic implants pertaining to natural systems.

Conversely, some engineering disciplines view the human body as a biological machine worth studying and are dedicated to emulating many of its functions by replacing [[biology]] with technology. This has led to fields such as [[artificial intelligence]], [[Artificial neural network|neural networks]], [[fuzzy logic]], and [[robot]]ics. There are also substantial interdisciplinary interactions between engineering and medicine.<ref name="IME">[http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/ime/mission.html Institute of Medicine and Engineering: Mission statement The mission of the Institute for Medicine and Engineering (IME) is to stimulate fundamental research at the interface between biomedicine and engineering/physical/computational sciences leading to innovative applications in biomedical research and clinical practice.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317145554/http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/ime/mission.html |date=March 17, 2007 }}</ref><ref name="IEEE">{{Cite web |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=51 |title=IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology: Both general and technical articles on current technologies and methods used in biomedical and clinical engineering ... |access-date=March 30, 2007 |archive-date=February 13, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213074931/http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=51 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Both fields provide solutions to real world problems. This often requires moving forward before phenomena are completely understood in a more rigorous scientific sense and therefore experimentation and empirical knowledge is an integral part of both.

Medicine, in part, studies the function of the human body. The human body, as a biological machine, has many functions that can be modeled using engineering methods.<ref name="Royal Academy">[http://www.acmedsci.ac.uk/images/pressRelease/1170256174.pdf Royal Academy of Engineering and Academy of Medical Sciences: Systems Biology: a vision for engineering and medicine in pdf: quote1: Systems Biology is an emerging methodology that has yet to be defined quote2: It applies the concepts of systems engineering to the study of complex biological systems through iteration between computational or mathematical modelling and experimentation.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070410011033/http://www.acmedsci.ac.uk/images/pressRelease/1170256174.pdf |date=April 10, 2007 }}</ref>

The heart for example functions much like a pump,<ref name="Science Museum of Minnesota">{{Cite web |url=http://www.smm.org/heart/lessons/lesson5a.htm |title=Science Museum of Minnesota: Online Lesson 5a; The heart as a pump |access-date=September 27, 2006 |archive-date=September 27, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927073422/http://www.smm.org/heart/lessons/lesson5a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> the skeleton is like a linked structure with levers,<ref name="Minnesota State University emuseum">[http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/biology/humananatomy/skeletal/skeletalsystem.html Minnesota State University emuseum: Bones act as levers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220001131/http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/biology/humananatomy/skeletal/skeletalsystem.html |date=December 20, 2008 }}</ref> the brain produces [[Signal (electrical engineering)|electrical signals]] etc.<ref name="UC Berkeley News">{{Cite web |url=http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/02/23_brainwaves.shtml |title=UC Berkeley News: UC researchers create model of brain's electrical storm during a seizure |access-date=March 30, 2007 |archive-date=February 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202183307/http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/02/23_brainwaves.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> These similarities as well as the increasing importance and application of engineering principles in medicine, led to the development of the field of [[biomedical engineering]] that uses concepts developed in both disciplines.

Newly emerging branches of science, such as [[systems biology]], are adapting analytical tools traditionally used for engineering, such as systems modeling and computational analysis, to the description of biological systems.<ref name="Royal Academy"/>