Researchers Hope To Grow Human Ears From Fat Tissue 35
Zothecula writes "Researchers at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital aim to grow a human ear via stem cells taken from a patient's fat tissue. Relatively little attention has been given to the reconstruction of damaged cartilage around the cranial area, however the new method is hoped to modernize this area of reconstructive surgery."
Re:Why not go whole hog and make pancreatic cells? (Score:2, Informative)
"Insulin production is down" is misleading. Most type 2 diabetes is based on insulin resistance: *Type 1* diabetes, though is mostly an auto-immune problem that destroys all beta cells, and that can benefit from transplants *if the auto-immune problem is addressed*. It has never been addressed properly, so none of the transplant procedures have worked out for Type 1.
In fact, according to Dr. Faustmann's work at MGH, if you address the auto-immune problem with correctly applied BCG vaccine and tight blood sugar control, it cures Type 1 diabetes. Insulin producing cells generate naturally, from adult stem cells, at least in the lab animals. They're starting the second round of human testing now. Look at http://www.faustmanlab.org/ for some links to the research.
It's also in indicator of the problem of "just slap more tissue in". Like so many fat people who get stomach surgery, or people who get rurgery for RSI, unless the *cause* of the problem is addressed, it will just recur, even with surgical intervention.