Growing New Body Parts: Breakthroughs in Regenerative Medicine

Why not engineer new tissue and organs to replace sick ones?

I came upon this fascinating video on regenerative medicine and thought I'd share it. It was posted on TED.com some time ago, but the stuff Alan Russell talks about in his presentation is still very relevant.

If you're not sure where we currently are in terms of growing new body parts and tissue, you might be positively surprised after watching this video. What's interesting is that it's not just about growing organs in a lab somewhere and then transferring them inside patients (even though that's a cool breakthrough too); it's about making the body regrow its own parts. Sound like sci-fi? Fortunately, it's not.

Though some of the "before" images of infected and sick body parts are somewhat grotesque, the "after" images of the results from these new technologies are pretty awe-inspiring.

Watch out especially for the regrown finger.

For more information on anti-aging and longevity, see these posts:

End Aging to End Anxiety: Filmmaker Jason Silva Talks about Immortality
Drinking 10 Cups of Green Tea Daily and Not Smoking Could Add 12 Years to Your Life
Green Tea Reduces the Formation of AGEs
How the Accumulation of Minerals Might Cause Aging in Humans