Pig Lung Transplants for Humans Move Closer

Lab-made organ successfully transplanted

(NEWSER) - They almost make it sound easy: Surgeons in Sweden removed a man's cancerous windpipe and replaced it with an artificial one they had whipped up in the lab, reports the BBC . No more diseased windpipe, no more cancer. "He was condemned to die," says one of surgeons of the 36-year-old male patient. "We now plan to discharge him [tomorrow]." More»

Use of new technique could eventually end waiting lists for organs

(NEWSER) - The principles of 3D printing are being applied to medicine, raising the possibility that doctors might someday be able to produce human organs for transplant and end the use of waiting lists. California biotech company Organovo already has a prototype of the so-called "bioprinter," which uses two printer heads to place cells ("bioink") onto a water-based gel ("biopaper"). For more details on the process, see the Telegraph and, especially, the Engineer . More»

It could be possible in 3 years

(NEWSER) - UK researchers have grown embryos that combine the DNA of one man and two women, a development that could help babies avoid genetic defects. In broad strokes, it works like this: Parents at risk of passing on a genetic disorder fertilize an egg, and the healthy material is extracted and put into the "shell" of an egg from another woman. Junior would still look like his two natural parents. More»

Animals' bodies act as processors for key protein

(NEWSER) - Goats could be the pharma factories of tomorrow: Genetic engineering can prompt them to make a protein in their milk to fight excessive blood clotting. A medication culled from the process was greeted warmly yesterday by an expert panel, and now the FDA is looking into it. If approved, the drug, ATryn, could be the first of many meds derived from genetically-engineered goats, rabbits, and other creatures, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

DNA samples still exist for many extinct megafauna

(NEWSER) - Now that scientists have the woolly mammoth’s genome, the possibility of resurrecting the giant creatures—and other impressive species from our planet’s past—is a bit closer. Which megafauna would you bring back? New Scientist lists its favorites:

• Sabre-toothed tiger. This massive cat with huge fangs would surely be an impressive, and terrifying, sight.
• Short-faced bear. This behemoth is a third taller than the polar bear when standing upright.