So We Are Really Out Here Making Organs Out of Leaves? Litty
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Courtesy of Ars Technica
In the United States alone, there are approximately 75,000 people on the organ transplant list, but only 8,000 deceased organ donors and each yer providing only about 3.5 organs and only 6000 organs are donated form living donors. I was watching Bill Nye the Science Guy the other day and was exposed to this amazing research project by two biomedical Engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute which essentially could prove that one day Vegetables might actually be able to save and prolong lifespan.
They say that vegetables are good for you, but nobody could even fathom the extent to which that deems true. Biomedical Engineers are conducting research to regenerate tissue from small tissue samples to treat people with disease and traumatic injuries through a scientific study which is turning cellulose from plants into contracting heart stem cells. Why Plants?? If you look at a leaf you are able to clearly see the vascular veins that that transport nutrients and oxygen to the plant. This vascularization of plants is so similar to that of the human organ systems.
From what has been reported, these spinach leaves go through a decellularization process which strips them of their plant elements and leaves the shell in the form of cellulose. This cellulose is then technically washed over with human tissue cells taken as a small sample from a human to be transformed into stem cells for that desired human organ or tissue. ,
They say that in five to ten years, this technology will be available to the mass. I am constantly at awe when in comes to science and its potential. If you are interested in reading more about this study, here is an article that may give you a better understanding, in the case that I don't really know exactly what I am talking about.
