This press release from Yahoo! News notes an ongoing research program aimed at the rapid tissue engineering of whole kidneys from a patient's own cells: "Using principles of 'tissue self-assembly' (cells coming together to form actual tissues such as a kidney, heart, lung etc.) and stem cell research, scientists involved with the MUSC Bioengineered Kidney Project are testing the possibility of creating a new kidney from a patient's cells. ... While other researchers are trying to grow kidney tissues slowly, the essence of [this technological approach] is rapid directed tissue self-assembly, which is based on exploration of the tissue fusion phenomenon." This program has been running for a while - we'll see what comes of it. Reading between the lines, this release something of a positioning piece for funding; nothing wrong with that, and it is helpful to see intent and goals as they are expressed in the field, but don't mistake it for actual results.
31
Jul
2006
To Rapidly Build a Kidney
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First Steps
The Causes of Aging
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