Sydney - Australian researchers have grown beating heart tissue in the laboratory in a world-first breakthrough that could lead to the creation of entire human organs, scientists said Wednesday.
The team of Australian scientists and surgeons said their work aimed to grow organs, including parts of the heart, using patients' own stem cells to avoid the problems of immune system rejection of transplanted organs.
Until now, scientists have only been able to create two-dimensional tissues like skin in the laboratory.
But Wayne Morrison, the lead researcher, said his team had been able to grow three-dimensional tissue that will one day lead to the creation of organs.
"The capacity to create organs has huge ramifications for the thousands of people worldwide whose survival depends on transplants, especially heart patients," he told reporters in Melbourne.
"This tissue engineering breakthrough will bring new hope, confidence, identity and dignity into the future for millions of people of Australia and the world," he said.
Morrison said the work involves using microsurgery to implant a blood vessel in a specially-designed chamber into which stem cells are then inserted and grown into various tissue types.
Researchers from the Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery at Melbourne's St Vincent hospital and the University of Melbourne's surgery department have used the technique to successfully grow breast tissue, fat, muscles and pancreas tissue that secretes insulin, he said.
Morrison showed reporters a video of beating heart tissue grown by his team.
"The heart cells are actually beating at their own rhythm," he said. - AFP
Sydney - Australian researchers have grown beating heart tissue in the laboratory in a world-first breakthrough that could lead to the creati ...[text shortened]... is team.
"The heart cells are actually beating at their own rhythm," he said. - AFP
Originally posted by moweut Step asside God you've just been replaced
Since when did God provide human organs for transplant? What exactly does this story have to do with God?
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08 Jun '06 09:14
Originally posted by FreakyKBH Key words:
[b]using patients' own stem cells[/b]
There is no evidence to suggest that it is impossible to develop a cell from scratch - we just haven't yet. Vitalism was rejected two hundred years ago and reductionism is on the way out.
Originally posted by Conrau K [b]There is no evidence to suggest that it is impossible to develop a cell from scratch - we just haven't yet.
There is evidence to suggest that we can't develope a cell from scratch. That evidence is that we have not been able to do so as of yet. If you feel that we can create a cell, thus giving credibility to abiogenesis, then by all means please share. Problem is, is that we do not fully understand the cell well enough to know that we can create a cell from scratch. To be able to fully comprehend the smallest living organism would be to fully comprehend the mystery of life itself. All I can say is, GOOD LUCK!!!!!!
Originally posted by whodey There is evidence to suggest that we can't develope a cell from scratch. That evidence is that we have not been able to do so as of yet. If you feel that we can create a cell, thus giving credibility to abiogenesis, then by all means please share. Problem is, is that we do not fully understand the cell well enough to know that we can create a cell from scr ...[text shortened]... ism would be to fully comprehend the mystery of life itself. All I can say is, GOOD LUCK!!!!!!
have not been able to ~= cannot
Every technological advancement in human history should stand as testament to this fact.
Originally posted by telerion have not been able to ~= cannot
Every technological advancement in human history should stand as testament to this fact.
I did not say that it has been proven that we cannot create a cell. I said that there is evidence that we cannot which is that we have not been able to as of yet. This evidence refutes the posters comment about the matter.
Originally posted by whodey I did not say that it has been proven that we cannot create a cell. I said that there is evidence that we cannot which is that we have not been able to as of yet. This evidence refutes the posters comment about the matter.
I don't care if you didn't use the word "proven." That we haven't yet figured out how to do it in no way implies suggests that it is impossible.
You haven't even begun to touch the original post.
Originally posted by telerion I don't care if you didn't use the word "proven." That we haven't yet figured out how to do it in no way implies suggests that it is impossible.
You haven't even begun to touch the original post.
Tell me then, what is the "proof" that we can create cells from scratch? Is it only obscure theories related to abiogenesis? Is it because they can "grow" cells in a laboratory from other stem cells? I can grow tomatoes from seeds, no? What does this "prove"?
Originally posted by whodey Tell me then, what is the "proof" that we can create cells from scratch? Is it only obscure theories related to abiogenesis? Is it because they can "grow" cells in a laboratory from other stem cells? I can grow tomatoes from seeds, no? What does this "prove"?
It isn't that we have proven that it can be done yet. What he is saying is simply that the fact that we have not yet done something is not evidence that we will not be able to do it.
Just because no one has landed a human being on Pluto yet is not evidence that it cannot be done, just that we haven't been able to do it so far. Maybe we will, maybe there will be some problem and we can't, but just not having done something in no way supports the argument that it is impossible.
Originally posted by Conrau K There is no evidence to suggest that it is impossible to develop a cell from scratch - we just haven't yet. Vitalism was rejected two hundred years ago and reductionism is on the way out.
What would be evidence that anything can not be done?
Kelly
Originally posted by UmbrageOfSnow [b]
Just because no one has landed a human being on Pluto yet is not evidence that it cannot be done,
Yes, but if we tried to land someone on Pluto and could not, it would be evidence that we are unable to do so. In fact, the more times we try and fail, the more evidence that would be generated that it was and is impossible.
Originally posted by KellyJay What would be evidence that anything can not be done?
Kelly
E=MC^2
Is evidence that many things are extremely unlikely to be done (I doubt any scientist worth their education would claim anything truly "impossbile", lest they be embarrassed).
Originally posted by KellyJay What would be evidence that anything can not be done?
Kelly
A strong, well tested theory with predictive power that has so far been very successful. If this theory were to imply that something were impossible based on what else is possible and how it is thought to work, this would be evidence that something is impossible.
Another (stronger) evidence would be a mathematical or logical proof based on very basic assumptions.
And either of these are only evidence that something is probably impossible. We can never know for a fact that something is impossible, just that it is impossible given that something else is true. If the something is fairly basic and obvious seeming, there is strong evidence of impossibility.
Step aside God, you have been replaced
08 Jun '06 01:55
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