Happy Story

[eldaec]

We should really have a thread here for happy things. Especially cool happy things FROM THE FUTURE.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14047670

Surgeons carry out first synthetic windpipe transplant


Surgeons in Sweden have carried out the world's first synthetic organ transplant.

Scientists in London created an artificial windpipe which was then coated in stem cells from the patient.

Crucially, the technique does not need a donor, and there is no risk of the organ being rejected. The surgeons stress a windpipe can also be made within days.

The 36-year-old cancer patient is doing well a month after the operation.

The key to the latest technique is modelling a structure or scaffold that is an exact replica of the patient's own windpipe, removing the need for a donor organ.

To do this he enlisted the help of UK experts were given 3D scans of the 36-year-old African patient, Andemariam Teklesenbet Beyene. The geology student currently lives in Iceland where he is studying for a PhD.

Using these images, the scientists at University College London were able to craft a perfect copy of Mr Beyene's trachea and two main bronchi out of glass.

They then coated this was then flown to Sweden and soaked in a solution of stem cells taken from the patient's bone marrow.

After two days, the millions of holes in the porous windpipe had been seeded with the patient' own tissue.

Dr Alex Seifalian and his team used this fragile structure to create a replacement for the patient, whose own windpipe was ravaged by an inoperable tumour.

Despite aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the cancer had grown to the size of a golf ball and was blocking his breathing. Without a transplant he would have died.

The bone marrow cells and lining cells taken from his nose, which were also implanted during the operation, are able to divide and grow, turning the inert windpipe scaffold into an organ indistinguishable from a normal healthy one.

And, importantly, Mr Beyene's body will accept it as its own, meaning he will not need to take the strong anti-rejection drugs that other transplant patients have to.

Professor Macchiarini said this was the real breakthrough.

"Thanks to nanotechnology, this new branch of regenerative medicine, we are now able to produce a custom-made windpipe within two days or one week.

"This is a synthetic windpipe. The beauty of this is you can have it immediately. There is no delay. This technique does not rely on a human donation."

He said many other organs could be repaired or replaced in the same way.

[Bunk]

That's actually pretty amazing.

[Merusk]

Not only the tech but growing a whole section in two days to a week?  Holy crap.

The day we're actually able to do this with hearts & kidneys and other organs seems a hell of a lot closer suddenly.

[Hawkbit]

There was a doc/scientist recently that said that the children being born 20 years from now have the potential to live 1000 year lifespans due to stem cell/gene therapy.  I think 1000 years is crap, but it would not surprise me to see someone living to 150 in the next century. 

Found the article:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/04/us-ageing-cure-idUSTRE7632ID20110704

[HaemishM]

Vat grown organs are a fucking awesome technology.

[Trippy]

Not only the tech but growing a whole section in two days to a week?  Holy crap.

The day we're actually able to do this with hearts & kidneys and other organs seems a hell of a lot closer suddenly.

Printing a human kidney:

http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html

[01101010]

Star Trek predicts more shit that is coming to pass... I GREW A NEW KIDNEY!! 

[Sky]

Listen, you want vat-grown organ technology to take off? Easy.

Vat-grown penises.

Tell me rich bastards wouldn't be lined up around the block for a giant schlong.

[HaemishM]

Or an extra one... just because, you know? 

[01101010]

Or an extra one... just because, you know? 

Lucrative porn deals?

[Merusk]

Listen, you want vat-grown organ technology to take off? Easy.

Vat-grown penises.

Tell me rich bastards wouldn't be lined up around the block for a giant schlong.

I think the problems with that are the same with female -> male sex reassignment surgery.  I don't think the tech is there quite yet to do the vessel hookups for all the spongy tissue.

[Trippy]

Or an extra one... just because, you know? 

Lucrative porn deals?

Well that's a possibility but probably not what HaemishM was thinking. Here's a stupid sexist joke we used to tell (censored somewhat but still NSFW) back in my teenage years:

[Sky]

Ah, the old jokes. Like the snack bar and outhouse.

[Ghambit]

There was a doc/scientist recently that said that the children being born 20 years from now have the potential to live 1000 year lifespans due to stem cell/gene therapy.  I think 1000 years is crap, but it would not surprise me to see someone living to 150 in the next century. 

Found the article:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/04/us-ageing-cure-idUSTRE7632ID20110704

Probability dictates that even "immortals" would die before reaching 180 yrs. old, from unforeseen circumstances...  assuming you live a normal life and dont hide in your basement.

[Quinton]

Perhaps basements will be much more enjoyable to live in in the future.

[Count Nerfedalot]

There was a doc/scientist recently that said that the children being born 20 years from now have the potential to live 1000 year lifespans due to stem cell/gene therapy.  I think 1000 years is crap, but it would not surprise me to see someone living to 150 in the next century. 

Found the article:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/04/us-ageing-cure-idUSTRE7632ID20110704

Probability dictates that even "immortals" would die before reaching 180 yrs. old, from unforeseen circumstances...  assuming you live a normal life and dont hide in your basement.

Well if the average "immortal" could live close to 180 years before some random non-age-related accident takes him, then the far end of that bell curve could be way out there indeed, couldn't it?

[Morat20]

I think the problems with that are the same with female -> male sex reassignment surgery.  I don't think the tech is there quite yet to do the vessel hookups for all the spongy tissue.

Yeah. I suspect that very few people are going to want to replace their schlong unless the new one reacts and feels like the old one -- or better. Otherwise it's just a permanently attached dildo.

I think gene therapy or nanotech is more likely for anything where you want to keep complex nerve and muscle attachments, at least for 'enhancement'. Something is better than nothing in terms of cancer or injury, but if you just want a bigger dick, you'ld probably be happier with the thing just growing on it's own over a month or three.