DocM Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 MIT.... Growing EyeballsEmbryonic stem cells growing in a dish can spontaneously form complex structures resembling the retina?a discovery that could one day help restore sight to the blind. A clump of mouse embryonic stem cells can self-organize into three-dimensional structures reminiscent of the retina in the early stages of embryonic development, according to a new study published Wednesday in Nature. Researchers believe this process could one day serve as a source of cells to transplant into diseased and damaged retinas?a potential way to restore sight to the blind. Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, began with clusters of about 3,000 mouse embryonic stem cells floating in a mix of chemicals designed to spur differentiation into retinal cells. After a week, several balloon-like sacs of cells began to protrude from the surface of each cluster. Over the next few days, those sacs pouched inward on themselves to form structures resembling the optic cup?the complex dual-layered structure that emerges early in development and eventually becomes the retina. > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyang Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 MIT.... What do you see now...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 ....all the ###### and politicians will look up and shout "Save Us!"....and I'll look down, and whisper, "NO".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacer Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 That is so cool. I hope this discovery leads to a full fledged cure for blindness. That would be awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 There's another paper (have to look up the link) where retinal stem cells are injected into a degenerated retina and it has partially grown back. Tissue engineering is moving SO damned fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudtrooper Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 There's another paper (have to look up the link) where retinal stem cells are injected into a degenerated retina and it has partially grown back. Tissue engineering is moving SO damned fast. Have you watched the Nova Science Now show where they covered all this tech and asked if we will be able to live forever? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/can-we-live-forever.html Crazy indeed. Much further along than i even knew.. i'm a space/physics nut.. amazes me what this field is coming up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 thanks much for posting this Doc, very good news. just imagine all the ailments and suffering that will be overcome in a century or so. i really envy the people of the 22nd century...they will have so much that is sci fi to us taken as given...they will think organ generation and going to Mars are things that happen every day, not just dreams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seta-san Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 that's kind of cool. what about teeth. it seem like it would be something far more needed across the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 This is great news! Science is moving on so fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerm Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 that's kind of cool. what about teeth. it seem like it would be something far more needed across the world. I'd rather have eyes than teeth. :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 "Seeds" for teeth are indeed on the.way. Its been done in mice which are a good human analog, so before long.... http://www.1dental.com/articles/health/stem-cell-teeth/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I'd rather have eyes than teeth. :blink: I think he meant more in the way that there are far more people with damaged teeth, and that can be detrimental to getting a proper diet. also for a lot of blind people this won't be useful, only those with actually physically damaged eyes, not those that are blind because of something further back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted April 10, 2011 Member Share Posted April 10, 2011 That's cool but it's in the "could" stage at the moment. It may or may not be a cure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoadorable Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 it will happen, amnio tanks will become a reality, but i'm afraid it'll be for the rich only for the first couple of centuries... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted April 11, 2011 Author Share Posted April 11, 2011 Just remember that DIY gene sequencing can, at a basic level, be done on a dime. At home. There are entire websites dedicated to it. Getting nervous yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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