PENIS Enginering!

From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Tue Apr 29 2003 - 16:31:50 MDT

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    http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993672

    Tissue engineers grow penis - with feeling
    17:00 29 April 03 NewScientist.com news service
    Tissue engineers who recently demonstrated penis replacement in animals have now
    added a vital missing component - nerve cells.
    "The nerve cells are very important - they are responsible for all the sensory
    function," says Anthony Atala, at Boston Children's Hospital. "In order to do
    complete [penile] replacements we need to make sure all of the parts are there,
    including the nerves."
    In September 2002, Atala and his colleagues replaced missing chunks of penis in
    live rabbits with tissues grown in the lab. But the replacement penile tissues
    consisted only of muscle and endothelial cells, which were inserted alongside
    intact nerve cells. Their new work is the first time that penile nerve tissue
    has been regenerated.
    "This is exciting and extends their work logically in several directions," says
    reconstructive surgeon Hunter Wessells of the University of Washington School of
    Medicine in Seattle.
    The regeneration of nerves is an important step towards one day creating
    engineered replacement penile tissue for men who have lost parts of the penis
    following prostate cancer surgery or an accident, or to enhance the genitals of
    children born with abnormalities.
    http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993672



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