Re: [rp-ml] Jaw Bone From Stem Cells

AP wire story out of London reports on a paper in this
week's Lancet medical journal that doctors in Kiel,
Germany, were able to grow in a man's back, from stem
cells, a replacement lower jaw bone that had been lost to
cancer, which they then surgically removed from his back
and reinserted into its proper place. The jaw bone was
grown in a titanium cage implant.

It seems to me that the Bio-plotter or something similar
should be capable of forming the templates in which to
grow tissues from stem cells. Research at Northwestern
University suggests stem cells are triggered to grow into
different types of tissues by the manner in which they are
physically confined. As the nature of which type of
confinement produces which type of tissue is discovered,
perhaps simple 3-D plotters could shape any tissue to
custom dimensions. Even if the doctors remained
constrained to growing custom bone implants in tantanium
cages, it seems like RP&M should play a role in creating
the custom titanium forms. Anyone on the rp-ml involved in
any aspect of this development?

Brock Hinzmann
Technology Navigator
SRI Consulting Business Intelligence
bhinzmann@sric-bi.com
www.sric-bi.com
+1 (650) 859-4350
Received on Fri Aug 27 20:03:15 2004