growing organs

via Drudge:

Tranplant of trachea grown from patient's own stem cells.
link2

Save that Umbillical cord

Scientists take cells from human umbillical cords, injecct them into mice brains, and voila, mice brains recover from disease.

But it is not the umbillical cord cells that grow, but due to the stem cells in the brain being turned back on so they can regenerate....

“We think that UCBCs may have a similar potential to reduce inflammation and to restore some of the lost capacity of stem/progenitor cells to proliferate and differentiate into neurons,” said Dr. Bickford.

The study found that the number of proliferative cells increased within 24 hours following the UCBC injections into the aged laboratory rats and that the increased cell proliferation continued for at least 15 days following a single treatment.

D'Joan, C'Mell, and Cordwainer Smith

moved to Boinkie's blog and BNN...

Adult stem cells help hearts

Stem cells from one own's bone marrow has increase the ability of damaged hearts to pump. The increase is low, (average 7%) but enough to get some people out of heart failure, and there are hopes that it will improve with each treatment.

What is puzzling is that the hearts in the study weren't that bad to begin with: Average ejection fraction of 37%...usually 20 is considered the cut off for end stage heart disease...

We'll know it is a good treatment when Dick Cheyney gets treatment...his EF is reportedly low...

They are already doing this procedure in Asia. Don Ho got his treatment last year in Thailand..