| (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20080114/0013729e4abe08f4f9fb0b.jpg) | The heart of a dead rat that has been washed of its original cells, then injected with heart cells from baby rats and brought back to life in the laboratory is seen in this photo. US scientists have for the first time made a beating heart in a laboratory using heart tissue from dead rats and pigs to make a framework and seeding it with live cells. The research is the work of scientists at the University of Minnesota and is published in the January 13th early online issue of Nature Medicine. The researchers used a process known as whole organ decellularization, where essentially all the cells of a heart are removed, leaving only those that constitute the physical framework, the extracellular matrix or "scaffolding" between cells. For more information about this story visit this link (http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1332546920080114?sp=true) |