Stem cells to ‘grow’ bones developed in Edinburgh

ARTIFICIAL bone created using stem cells and a new lightweight plastic could soon be used to heal shattered limbs.

The use of bone stem cells combined with a degradable rigid material that inserts into broken bones and encourages real bone to regrow has been developed at Edinburgh and Southampton universities.

Researchers have developed the material with a honeycomb scaffold structure that allows blood to flow through it, enabling stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow to attach to the material and grow new bone.