 |
         
|
Even on a heavy news day, CBS found time for a feature. Wyatt Andrews launched a series dubbed Growing Miracles on biotechnology advances in so-called regenerative medicine. He showed us Dr Anthony Atala's laboratory at Wake Forest University, which has so far grown 18 different types of body tissue. It uses the ink-spraying mechanism on a laserjet printer to apply layer after layer of cells to build a beating heart. Its bladder manufacture is most advanced. Laboratory-grown organs are already being used for transplant. Andrews offered free publicity to Tengion, the biotech firm that has licensed the process and has built a bladder factory. He offered a glimpse of a healthcare future of "highly personal mail order medicine where, in order to cure your disease, your physician will order a replacement organ or body part, which will be custom made for you using your own cells." Tengion expects regenerative medicine to boom in this decade as rapidly as the semiconductor industry did in the 1980s.
You must be logged in to this website to leave a comment. Please click here to log in so you can participate in the discussion.
