One Million To Fund Limb Growth Trials

$1M to fund clinical limb regrowth trials:

Thousands of wounded soldiers could benefit from clinical trials that will study the possibility of growing back severed limbs and other body parts, officials at the University of Pittsburgh said Friday.

Five trials focusing on regenerative medicine could start within the next year using a $1 million grant announced yesterday by U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn Hills.

Santorum made the announcement at Pitt's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, where scientists have been working on cell-based methods to regrow damaged or destroyed muscle, bone and tissue.

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The grant also will support the creation of the new Soldier Treatment and Regeneration Consortium, a national partnership of military and academic research centers and industry.

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The consortium's five-year goal is the creation of a fully functional finger.

Imagine a world where we can regrow spare parts for our aging/wounded bodies. Wouldn't that be fantastic?

Another one on fast growing stem cells:

A team of researchers has succeeded in engineering stem cells taken from tooth germ to quickly develop into liver or bone tissue, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology's Research Institute (AIST) for Cell Engineering said.

A joint team of scientists from the institute and Osaka University succeeded in repairing damaged liver and bones in rats using stem cells taken from wisdom tooth germ.

The finding raises hopes of developing regenerative medicine using wisdom teeth germ taken from people during orthodontic treatments.

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A team of researchers has succeeded in engineering stem cells taken from tooth germ to quickly develop into liver or bone tissue, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology's Research Institute (AIST) for Cell Engineering said.

A joint team of scientists from the institute and Osaka University succeeded in repairing damaged liver and bones in rats using stem cells taken from wisdom tooth germ.

The finding raises hopes of developing regenerative medicine using wisdom teeth germ taken from people during orthodontic treatments.