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Lab
Tested, Vatican Approved
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Tissue engineering does not require the controversial
use of embryonic stem cells, the as-yet undecided young
cells used in some research
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The
concept of custom grown organs might seem somewhat Frankensteinian,
at first. This startling picture of a mouse with a human ear
growing on it's back announced the new field of tissue engineering
to the public. In fact, tissue engineering may be one the
most natural and straightforward new technologies around today.
For one thing, tissue engineering does not require the controversial
use of embryonic stem cells, the as-yet undecided young cells
used in some research. Researchers like Naughton largely use
cells from cadavers.
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| Dr.
Joseph Vacanti, a transplant surgeon at Mass. General
Hospital, is one of the fathers of tissue engineering.
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"We've
always thought you shouldn't get into ethically cloudy issues,"
says Joseph Vacanti. "We never thought you should use fetal
tissues. Could we? Yes. Are we? No."
The
young science of tissue engineering even garnered Papal approval,
something it took Gallileo some 400 years to do.
"Our
strategy ended up being; we built a team, did good work and
reported it in journals, and people were able to reproduce
it," says Vacanti. "People now see the vision," says Vacanti.
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