By Duncan Kennedy
Jan 08, 2010
New bone derived from rattan wood
This was once a piece of rattan wood
A novel – and natural – way of creating new bones for humans could be just a few years away.
Scientists in Italy have developed a way of turning rattan wood into bone that is almost identical to the human tissue.
At the Istec laboratory of bioceramics in Faenza near Bologna, a herd of sheep have already been implanted with the bones.
The process starts by cutting the long tubular rattan wood up into manageable pieces.
It is then snipped into even smaller chunks, ready for the complex chemical process to begin.
The pieces are put in a furnace and heated.
In simple terms, carbon and calcium are added.
The wood is then further heated under intense pressure in another oven-like machine and a phosphate solution is introduced.
Related Topics
| Amazon explorers uncover signs of a real El Dorado Rory Carroll Tuesday 5 January 2010 Amazon City Discovered. It is the legend that drew legions... | Mice Created with 2 Moms Just ahead of Mother's Day, scientists have found a way to cut dads out of the picture, at least... | The future of brain-controlled devices Moving with the mind By Anne Hammock, CNN January 4, 2010 In the shimmering fantasy realm of the... | LuLu LuLu. Self publishing for everyone. The latest to join the field in self publishing is something... |










