While scientists have become rather adept at transforming generic skin cells into specialized organ cells, crafting the organs themselves has proven far more difficult. Since the 3-D architecture of most organs is as important to their function as their cellular makeup, 2-D cell cultures are not very useful for building a replacement heart from scratch. To solve that problem, most organ makers create a scaffolding for the cells to grow on.
For a team of researchers at Rice University, even a biodegradable scaffolding wasn't good enough. By injecting cells with a metallic gel, the researchers have succeeded in suspending cultured cells in a three-dimensional magnetic field. With this magnetic scaffolding, organs can be grown in the right shape, and with no foreign material.

The obvious next step involved programming detailed magnetic fields that float stem cells in the exact spots needed for them to grow into a full organ. To that end, the researchers have sold the technology to the company n3D Bioscences. Whether or not this process leaves your replacement organ magnetic, and how that will affect getting through airports, remains to be seen.
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"By injecting cells with a metallic gel, ... organs can be grown in the right shape, and with no foreign material."
It's OK, we understand what you meant to say.
So, these organs would have a virus that comes with them?
yeah...exactly how is a metallic gel not foreign material?
-rpenri-
just a guess, but i think it could be iron in a colloidal suspension. i would think the gel itself could be made from any number of materials already present in our systems, and easily re-absorbed into the body over time. any thoughts?
There would be no virus with the organs; the virus is just used to inject the iron oxide gel and then discarded. Bacteriophages typically inject just their genetic material into cells, so it seems that they've somehow replaced that with the polymer gel.
While reading this I kept having visions of Magneto levitating Wolverine in the air...
So, they can, please correct me if I'm wrong, they can have a virus injected into the body, not only honed in on specific tissue, but then at the same make the virus do a completely different function than what it was originally supposed to do, such-as plant polymer iron oxide gel, instead of the infecting DNA strand to the cell tissue. Then put it into a magnetic structured environment. Our bodies know what to do, it's the users responsibility to find out how to make it function properly. Why live if someone or thing does everything else for you?
all hail king of the losers. I wish to have brain with that please. thank you.
This is the first time I am hearing that metal nano-particles suspend human cells in magnetic scaffolding for easy organ manufacturing. How fast the science is growing day by day! All these researches and experiments should be very helpful one for the heart or organ transplantation in the future. IT’s good news that the researchers have succeeded in suspending cultured cells in a three-dimensional magnetic field by injecting cells with a metallic gel. This research should also be helpful for the cancer patients too as it can make the brain cancer cells to behave normally. I wish all the best to the researchers at Rice University to make the stem cells grow into a full organ by this technique. Medical alarms
This is great news, every time I read something like this I wish I was born in 100 years time, we'll be immortal by then.
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While reading this I kept having visions of Magneto levitating Wolverine in the air!
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"Even a biodegradable scaffolding wasn't good enough. By injecting cells with a metallic gel, the researchers have succeeded in suspending cultured cells in a three-dimensional magnetic field. With this magnetic scaffolding, organs can be grown in the right shape, and with no foreign material."
Unbelievable concept..
This is the first time I am hearing that metal nano-particles suspend human cells in magnetic scaffolding for easy organ manufacturing. How fast the science is growing day by day! All these researches and experiments should be very helpful one for the heart or organ transplantation in the future. IT’s good news that the researchers have succeeded in suspending cultured cells in a three-dimensional magnetic field by injecting cells with a metallic gel. This research should also be helpful for the cancer patients too as it can make the brain cancer cells to behave normally. I wish all the best to the researchers at Rice University to make the stem cells grow into a full organ by this technique. Medical alarms
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