From: Jacques Du Pasquier (jacques@dtext.com)
Date: Thu Jan 31 2002 - 05:23:41 MST
Reading the article, I wondered how much time is needed to grow such
kidney. In this instance, they waited a lot in the embryonic
development, and then they transplanted (sort of, as they did not
function as kidneys) micro-kidneys. So growing them fully might be
quite long, difficult to accelerate, and so might imply important care
and costs ?
Anyway like Jeff I am pleasantly surprised at how "easy" it seems ;
the impression is that with proper genetic material (through cloning),
things work smoothly and with high tolerance. It's not so "brittle",
it wants to work.
Jacques
jeff davis wrote (30.1.2002/13:57) :
> What I found interesting about this achievement was
> that they grew the crucial functional kidney cells on
> a "scaffolding". I interpret this to mean that making
> a kidney was simpler than I had supposed it would be,
> in that the structural layout of the "kidney" is not
> critical. This has its limitations, of course. I
> doubt that the urine can be allowed to just pool in
> the region where it is produced, but must be conveyed
> from its point of production to the bladder. But
> apparently, an artificially-created kidney can be made
> along pathways other than the original natural
> embryonic developmental sequence, and take an
> other-than-natural structural form, and still perform
> its function. (...)
> --- max@maxmore.com wrote:
> > Advanced Cell Technology has done it again.
> > Congratulations to Michael West, Robert Lanza and
> > the team there!
> >
> >
> > Scientists Claim an Advance in Therapeutic Cloning
> > Mass. Firm Uses Embryonic Cow Cells to Create
> > Kidney-Like Organs; Transplant Success Reported
> >
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58739-2002Jan29.html
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