Man grows finger

[CyprusX]

Well I'll be damned.

I put my finger in," Mr Spievak says, pointing towards the propeller of a model aeroplane, "and that's when I sliced my finger off."

I think that within ten years that we will have strategies that will re-grow the bones, and promote the growth of functional tissue around those bones
Dr Stephen Badylak
University of Pittsburgh

It took the end right off, down to the bone, about half an inch.

"We don't know where the piece went."

The photos of his severed finger tip are pretty graphic. You can understand why doctors said he'd lost it for good.

Today though, you wouldn't know it. Mr Spievak, who is 69 years old, shows off his finger, and it's all there, tissue, nerves, nail, skin, even his finger print.

Mr Speivak's brother Alan - who was working in the field of regenerative medicine - sent him the powder.

For ten days Mr Spievak put a little on his finger.

"The second time I put it on I already could see growth. Each day it was up further. Finally it closed up and was a finger.

"It took about four weeks before it was sealed."

Now he says he has "complete feeling, complete movement."

The "pixie dust" comes from the University of Pittsburgh, though in the lab Dr Stephen Badylak prefers to call it extra cellular matrix.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/735445 8.stm

[Mechabloby]

I think it's utter bollocks, really. I've heard about this in the papers for the past two days and I find it pretty hard to believe.

[CyprusX]

At 5/2/08 01:39 PM, Mechabloby wrote: I think it's utter bollocks, really. I've heard about this in the papers for the past two days and I find it pretty hard to believe.

Same here.

[Racoonmario]

I´m not quite sure if I should believe this or not, but if it´s true, then it´s really awesome.

[DonDonTommy]

At 5/2/08 01:42 PM, Racoonmario wrote: I´m not quite sure if I should believe this or not, but if it´s true, then it´s really awesome.

agreed , dunno if its true but if it is cool.

[Victory]

IM QUITE SURE THIS WILL END THE WORLD

[CyprusX]

At 5/2/08 01:51 PM, Victory wrote: IM QUITE SURE THIS WILL END THE WORLD

Did'nt you read? They call the powder " the matrix "

I bet smith is hiding inside that finger somewhere.

[NEVR]

Hard to believe that a dust made from pig bladder scrapings could be made into a dust that would help re-grow body parts. If it's true, then it's obviously a huge leap forward in terms of medical treatments for severely injured people (soldiers injured in war, for example). I'd like to keep an open mind about it, but it honestly is pretty hard to believe.

[Saint-Jesus]

I reckon the story is an april fools, the BBC always do stuff like this, also the dates give a good hint.

[CyprusX]

At 5/2/08 02:04 PM, Saint-Jesus wrote: I reckon the story is an april fools, the BBC always do stuff like this, also the dates give a good hint.

April fools in May , yeah makes sense.

[Evark]

If you guys were learned or even mildly interested in medicine, you'd know they've been researching for years the way that Salamanders and other limb-regenerating animals regrow lost tissue. It's known that humans have the potential to regenerate lost body parts, with the fingers being already particularly prone to the ability to regenerate in children. It's basically a matter of being able to instruct the cells around the site of the cut to regenerate tissue instead of forming a scar.

It would appear as if there's, at least minimally, some way devised to do this already for the fingertips. Seriously though, this is all in a recent issue of Scientific American, probably April or March's.

[Tea]

What has science done?!

[jokerscard]

I'll keep that in mind if my genitals get blown off by an IED.

[emo-penguin]

I was so sure that it was going to have something to do with stem cell research...

Them aborted fetuses have magic powers or sumtin

[SuperFlonic]

At 5/2/08 02:33 PM, Evark wrote: If you guys were learned or even mildly interested in medicine, you'd know they've been researching for years the way that Salamanders and other limb-regenerating animals regrow lost tissue. It's known that humans have the potential to regenerate lost body parts, with the fingers being already particularly prone to the ability to regenerate in children. It's basically a matter of being able to instruct the cells around the site of the cut to regenerate tissue instead of forming a scar.

I know about this. They move a salamander's nerve around for a bit and in a few weeks you can see an extra 'finger' on the salamander's paw. However, I think that 4 weeks for half a finger is a bit too short. It's cool to know, anyway, that us humans have the ability to regenerate. We just don't know how to use it yet.

[darknessdweller]

THAT'S FUKIN AWESOME!!1!!