Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Miniature Human Livers Grown In Lab

Posted by Soulskill on from the less-filling-tastes-great dept.

Zothecula writes "In the quest to grow replacement human organs in the lab, livers are no doubt at the top of many a barfly's wish list. With its wide range of functions that support almost every organ in the body and no way to compensate for the absence of liver function, the ability to grow a replacement is also the focus of many research efforts. Now, for the first time, researchers have been able to successfully engineer miniature livers in the lab using human liver cells."

3 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Miniature drinks? by Toe,+The · · Score: 5, Funny

    So if they make me a miniature liver, does that mean I can only drink those little 8oz beers?

    1. Re:Miniature drinks? by pantheonwhaley · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, and you can only go to minibars. The upside is that the ladies wear miniskirts.

  2. More on the topic by zrbyte · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's a TED talk from Alan Russell on the methods and details of this technology.