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#1
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07-08-2011, 05:19 PM
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 My Rank: MAJOR Poster Rank:12 Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 93,062
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World's First Stem Plant Organ
A man is recovering after surgeons implanted the world’s first wholly laboratory-grown organ into his body. The synthetic trachea, or windpipe, was created by seeding the 36-year-old patient’s stem cells on to an artificial ‘scaffold’. British scientists helped design and build the structure, which is an exact replica of the man’s original windpipe. Breakthrough: The lab-grown windpipe being used on the 36-year-old patient at the Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden:  Windpipes have been grown from stem cells before, but only using the collagen ‘skeletons’ of donated tracheas. Using an entirely synthetic scaffold means patients do not have to wait for a suitable donor organ. This is especially important for children, for whom donor tracheas are much more difficult to find. Pioneer: Professor Alexander Seifalian from University College London:  The patient, an African student living in Iceland, had been suffering from life-threatening tracheal cancer. Spanish regenerative medicine pioneer Professor Paolo Macchiarini led the ground-breaking operation at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden. Professor Alexander Seifalian, from University College London, worked with Professor Macchiarini to produce the synthetic trachea scaffold. The Y-shaped structure was made from a plastic-like ‘nanocomposite’ polymer material consisting of microscopic building blocks. The material was developed and patented by Professor Seifalian. To guide the process, computerised scan images were obtained of the patient’s damaged trachea. These were used to produce a glass mould for the nanocomposite structure. The scaffold was taken to Sweden, where it was ‘seeded’ with stem cells from the patient’s body. The prepared trachea was then placed in a ‘bioreactor’, a device providing the right environment for growth. After just two days the stem cells had grown into tracheal cells ready for transplantation. Because the organ was built from cells originating from the patient, there is no risk of it being rejected by his immune system. Professor Seifalian said: ‘What makes this procedure different is that it is the first time that a wholly tissue-engineered synthetic windpipe has been made and successfully transplanted, making it an important milestone for regenerative medicine. ‘We expect there to be many more exciting applications for the novel polymers we have developed.’ The patient is said to be doing well and is due to be discharged from hospital today. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...grown-lab.html |
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#2
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07-08-2011, 05:28 PM
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 ★Wizard Of Gore★ Poster Rank:2 Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 128,438
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Re: World's First Stem Plant Organ
Absolutely... Breathtaking. *groan*
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#4
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07-10-2011, 08:14 PM
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 Benevolent dictator Poster Rank:58 Arse fucker Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 25,614 25,614Posts 11,066Thanked 1,450Quoted 17Mentioned 0Contrib. |
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Re: World's First Stem Plant Organ
I hope this works well long term and does not create any new problems, welcome to the future of medicine.
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#5
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07-10-2011, 11:32 PM
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 My Rank: MAJOR Poster Rank:184 Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 8,413
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Re: World's First Stem Plant Organ
Why am I foreseeing only people with money being able to get this? It'll be like Laser Eye Surgery. |
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#7
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07-14-2011, 11:04 PM
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 $lave Poster Rank:29 Regular White Guy Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 51,254
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51,254Posts 81,602Thanked 27,907Quoted 599Mentioned 135Contrib. |
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Re: World's First Stem Plant Organ
...because it COSTS money...?  Why would this be any different than anything else. Does the world owe someone something for free..? Are scientists and the research companies that employ them somehow obligated to give what they worked hard to develop for free...? |
