Posted 01.05.2010 at 5:38 pm
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Bone from Wood This chalky synthetic bone structure made from wood is so like the real thing that biological bone will fuse with it.
BBC
First, there was the wooden peg leg. Then came bone replacements made of various metals and ceramics. Now, in the 21st century, we're back to wood. But this ain't your average sea dog's pine prosthesis; researchers in Italy have found a way to turn wood into synthetic bone that's so similar to real bone that it never has to be replaced.
By heating and processing rattan wood -- think wicker furniture -- at very high pressures and adding calcium and phosphate along the way, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics in Faenza fabricated a load-bearing synthetic so durable and so bone-like that, unlike ceramic and metal bone and joint substitutes, it never has to be replaced. Surgeons have already successfully implanted the artificial bone into sheep, demonstrating that real bone will actually fuse with the material, eventually making it hard to see where synthetic ends and real biological material begins.
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Science, Clay Dillow, artificial bone, bone replacement, health, medicine, synthetic bone[BBC]
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Wow, very cool!
Ditto - this is amazing. I wonder how cartilage works with it. This could revolutionize joint surgery. Obviously they know this...good work.
This is a stunning achievement. I don't think most people realize what a big deal this is. At least all the major news outlets don't seem to care.
Could help with future space endeavors... Longer mission time for astronauts perhaps?
does this mean science has finally found a way to put bones back into boneless chicken wings? if so.... stay away from my wings.
As usual, initial guesses focus on the most noble of uses.....the reality will likely be much different.
sub-dermal armor
cosmetic prosthesis
hidden tech grafted to bone to anchor it
non-irritation forming sockets through the skull
hardware replacements for eyes that can be bone-anchored
The list is endless.
~B
@Battlefield
you can also add onto your list-
natural heels for women & potato shooter
Does the wood come off the calcium in the replacement? That stuff cant be procesed by the liver or kidneys. They need to look at health concerns a bit more.
I don't think the average person knows where Faenza is.
thor0997-
I don't think that cellulose is very water soluble, so I doubt that the material is going to move around the body much.
I also don't think that anyone is saying that this would be without any side effects, but rather that the side effects are less than previous bone substitutes, such as metal and ceramic. Hence the need for 5 more years of study before utilizing this technique on humans.
Any one remember Ren and Stimpy's cartoons? Lee Press on limb's.
All of these advances in making new parts for people are great... now if they could only create spine for bosses life would be improved ten fold.
Sure there are side effects, but science will come up with a solution like it always has. Pinnochio used to give his marionette girlfriend "splinters" (the silent killer), until a chemist, Dr. zigfreid Jepetto, created polyurethane.
Craigboy. You're very kind. I know Americans who think Canada is a European country.