Jump to content

ITS ALIVE! ITS A LIIIIVE!


PLEZO1SON

Recommended Posts

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=4133154&page=1

 

"It was one of those 'wow' moments," Taylor said.

Taylor and her team took the heart of a dead rat and washed it out with a detergent similar to the ingredients in shampoo. They were left with a clear, translucent shell of a heart.

"You could think of as the bare wooden frame for a house," Taylor explained.

Then they injected that "scaffold" with heart cells from a baby rat and stimulated the heart electrically. Within a couple days, they saw microscopic movements, which -- in a few weeks' time -- resulted in a beating heart.

Taylor described the process like this: "Give nature the tools and get out of the way. We're never going to understand all the pieces. We don't have to."

The goal now is making it work in humans.

"We've been able to do this with a pig heart, and a pig heart is the same size as a human heart. It's really not at all outside the realm of possibility."

Taylor said they might be able to build any organs -- lungs, livers, kidneys -- creating the possibility of a future where the thousands of people who need replacement organs would no longer have to endure agonizing waits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This forum is supported by the 12ozProphet Shop, so go buy a shirt and help support!
This forum is brought to you by the 12ozProphet Shop.
This forum is brought to you by the 12oz Shop.

def not if the brain goes without oxygen/blood for too long severe damage ensues. I think they are looking at it more like if a persons heart stops beating and they hook them on a artificial heart machine they can repair the other heart instead of getting a transplant.

 

I actually believe that its just to show that yes they can repair dead tissue and bring it back to normal with the use of the cells. Its a huge accomplishment especially in somethign as complicated as the heart! This could mean shorter lists for transplants, new ways to fix a heart/other tissue, better treatments for things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...