Biomedical researchers at Columbia University have successfully used stem cell technology to replicate human bones, which could offer a new solution to human bone replacement. Led by Biomedical Engineering Prof. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, the team replicated a 3-D scaffolding of bones using digital images of an undamaged human jaw bone. Stem cells from human bone marrow or liposuctioned fat then were added to the scaffolding in a similarly-shaped bioreactor chamber. The bone replica was fed oxygen, nutrients and growth hormones and grew quickly within these chambers, responding to signals outside of a human body. This development could completely alter bone implants and eliminate painful bone grafts. Recent research has shown that any shape can be constructed with the right imaging technology. Currently, Prof. Scott Hollister at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is attempting to reconstruct bones of a jaw joint using humans as incubators instead of Vunjak-Novakovic's bioreactor chamber.
-compiled by Jade Hall
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