Limb regrowth held possible
New York scientists induce cell transformation and production by electricity, surgeons are told; investigators starting animal studies
Experiments by New York scientists may put man at the threshold of controlled growth of human tissue and bone, including limb regeneration.
Animal studies are now being conducted at the State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, and Veterans Administration Hospital, Syracuse, following in vitro cell research which showed regeneration is possible, says Robert O. Becker, MD.
Dr. Becker, research professor of orthopedic surgery and chief of staff for research at the VA Hospital, described his work to the American Association of Plastic Surgeons meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo. He elaborated in an interview with MEDICAL NEWS.
Since at least 1768, when an Italian scientist described the salamander's ability to replace a severed limb, scientists have wondered about a similar "useful disposition," as the Italian put it,
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