• Question: @dawn can you make cells for paralized people to grow thier legs back

    Asked by itzwill to Dawn on 14 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Dawn Lau

      Dawn Lau answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      That would be ideal, wouldn’t it? It’s a huge focus of research called regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. There is a type of cell called a stem cell, which has the ability to become any specialised cell in the body. In the future, we might be able to use stem cells and program to make a specific type of tissue cell, such as muscles.

      In order to grow a leg, the stem cells would need to produce all types of cells: muscle, blood, bones, cartilage, and nerve cells all need to work together to form a functioning leg. Something similar has been done in a rat model. Scientists used a rat leg which has had its soft tissue removed as a base to grow new cells on it and after several weeks, the leg was pretty functional. It’s not ready to be used on human patients yet, but I think the research is getting there.

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