(gizmag) Ben Coxworth - When a heart attack occurs, the resulting dead heart tissue is replaced with scar tissue that's incapable of expanding and contracting, leaving the victim with a permanently weakened heart. Scientists at Tel Aviv University are seeking to replace the dead tissue with lab-grown tissue created using springy fibers to enable it to expand and contract. The scientists noticed that the extracellular matrix fibers in the hearts of rats were actually spiral-shaped, and set about creating artificial versions of those fibers, using electrospinning techniques to create what looked like tiny telephone handset cords. Tissue made by seeding those curly fibers with cardiac cells was found to outperform tissue grown with straight fibers, when it came to functioning like natural heart tissue.
2013-09-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive