A living, beating heart -- grown in a jar

[LaStrega]

University of Minnesota researchers grew a rat heart in a landmark effort that may foreshadow the ability to grow tissue to repair organs, or even create organs for transplant.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have grown a beating heart in a jar.

Full article: http://www.startribune.com/13751901.html

[annabanana]

1. That may be GREAT scientific news...

but it creeps me out. . . :scared:

[hobbit709]

2. Maybe they can give Cheney a real heart.

Then they only need to grow a brain and some courage for George and Condi

[femmocrat]

7. That rat's heart is probably the right size.

[Wizard777]

15. Now theres a scarey thought.

Dick Cheney with an eternal supply of black hearts. :scared:

[DS1]

3. wow

[elizfeelinggreat]

4. I am creeped out by many things

but NOT this.

I think this is awesome! Hooray!

[LaStrega]

8. Agreed, awesome indeed!

[juno jones]

5. is it a CHICKEN heart? n/t

[ben_meyers]

10. Spread the Jello!! n/t

[TheMadMonk]

11. Sorry. Not Mrs Awkins. nt

[Ian David]

6. Remember the movie "Airplane" when Leslie Nielsen was talking to the guy from The Mayo Clinic...

and the heart was jumping around on his desk?

[Fleshdancer]

9. WOW!

from the article:

The first adaptation for cardiac patients might be for infants born with congenital heart deformities.

Those heart problems are usually identified before the child is born. Stem cells from the umbilical cord and the amniotic fluid could grow the heart parts the baby needs.



But one major barrier to advancing the technique to people is getting body parts to strip. "You have to take a heart to make a heart," Ratner said.

......

I wonder how long the process takes. I hope my organs are healthy enough to donate when I die and I hope this technique is perfected by then.

[TheMadMonk]

12. 3D "printers" have already been addapted to "print" bio materials.

From what I understand of this, the trick is to remove everything but the keratin and elastin and then grow a new heart on this scaffold.

"printing" out such a scaffold should be a doabble task in the not too distant future.

And even if that proves to be more difficult that I envisage, suitable scaffolding could still be obtained by "stripping" hearts that are unsuitable for transplantation. Or perhaps even animal hearts.

[TahitiNut]

13. Abby Normal?

:rofl:

[LaStrega]

14. *sports my best Marty Feldman eyes*

:rofl: