Could it be repaired with a protein patch?
Let’s hope.
[Update a while later]
Growing new nerves with 3-D printing.
I think if I can hang in for a few more years, I’ll have an opportunity to live a long time.
[Friday-morning update]
Kidneys have been grown from stem cells that are fully functional in pigs. No obvious reason it won’t work in humans as well. This will save and improve millions of lives, and money for dialysis.
[Bumped]
The Texas Heart Institute’s stem cell group grew a cow heart from stem cells and put it in a cow, in parallel with the cow’s heart. It worked. They are also experimenting with livers and pigs. They expect human trials of hearts in a couple of years. They use adult stem cells from the patient, so no ethical concerns and no rejection concerns. They grow the organ on a scaffold from pig or cow organs that have had all the cells stripped off, so that you have a circulatory system.
They use adult stem cells from the patient, so no ethical concerns and no rejection concerns.
The abstract didn’t say but I wonder where they got the stem cells for the kidneys or where they would get them if the kidneys were going into a human.
I don’t get why people are so hung up on using embryonic stem cells, considering what you pointed out. The only reasons are political but you think people would be happy that they are not needed.
The can make adult pluripotent stem cells from the patients skin cells. This means no rejection issues and no embrionic stem cells needed.