I just saw this article on another forum. I don't know much about this stuff, but it seems like the possibilities are pretty cool. It's a longer article, so I'll just post a portion of it. The link below has more content, including videos.
BBC NEWS | Health | The man who grew a finger Quote:
The process he has been pioneering over the last few years involves scraping the cells from the lining of a pig's bladder.
The remaining tissue is then placed into acid, "cleaned" of all cells, and dried out. It can be turned into sheets, or a powder.
It looks like a simple process, but of course the science is complex.
"There are all sorts of signals in the body," explains Dr Badylak.
"We have got signals that are good for forming scar, and others that are good for regenerating tissues.
"One way to think about these matrices is that we have taken out many of the stimuli for scar tissue formation and left those signals that were always there anyway for constructive remodelling."
In other words when the extra cellular matrix is put on a wound, scientists believe it stimulates cells in the tissue to grow rather than scar.
If they can perfect the technique, it might mean one day they could repair not just a severed finger, but severely burnt skin, or even damaged organs.
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Apr 30, 2008, 12:52 pm
