Scientific American Frontiers : Body Building (2002)

Genres - Science & Technology  |   Sub-Genres - Biological Sciences, Inventions & Innovations, Medicine  |   Run Time - 60 min.  |   Countries - United States  |  
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Synopsis

This episode explores what host Alan Alda calls "the new marriage of biology and engineering" in repairing and replacing damaged body parts. Among the advances: mechanical hearts; functional electrical stimulation for people with spinal-cord injuries; and a bioreactor that functions like a liver ("It's not just chipped liver," quips MIT scientist Linda Griffith). Then there's stem-cell research (some using cells from unfertilized eggs). It's promising, Alda says, because "if we just provide the right conditions, stem cells will do their thing."

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Keywords

body-parts, cells, implant, muscles, nervous-system, paralysis, technology, tissue [biology]