Scientists 'grow' new bladders

So to speak, anyway....

news.bbc.co.uk...

Is this a big breakthrough for bladder cancer sufferers?

TD

well i think this is a step forward for people needing other body parts. hopefully they wont cause a lot of problems. I for one would sign up to get a larger bladder for road trips.

Providing disease free stock is used a bladder with cancer could be replaced with a fresh engineered bladder... but there is 10,000 "ifs" in nephrology alone. What I have found amazing is that the formed bladder product has both ureter and urethra "stubs" or ports custom placed for the patient on the assembly lattice.
Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto is also growing a variety of complex tissue structures and some early results with other whole organs are promising but the cytology and histology need a great deal of refinement to get the cell/tissue blend right.
The bladder was structurally the easiest to do having a more or less uniform strata forming the organ - thinK of a stretchy skin balloon with three small ports.
I'm amazed they can do it ar all.
Makes you think about what might be brewing in some cryo-vat in some labs deep underground somewhere?
Maybe near where you live...
Just what are the big kids playing with these days?
And why are so many microbiologists - oops better not get into that on this thread.

I dont know much about biology, BUT, it would be a great day when you can walk in to the doctors office and shop for parts, kinda like you shop for autoparts. I hope by the time I turn 35 they have a whole stock of parts,
cause with my families history, I am going to need them !

So does anyone think that with developing technology like this, that this generation could reach agings "escape velocity"?

Originally posted by Rasobasi420
So does anyone think that with developing technology like this, that this generation could reach agings "escape velocity"?

We're still genetically programmed to die, unfortunately - just the way our DNA replicates means that we either get lethal mutations/cancer - or, if we're 'lucky', our cells just become senescent.
Just like Bladerunner, really :0

TD