To Rapidly Build a Kidney
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.