China’s industrial-scale organ trafficking practice has been executing prisoners of conscience and using their organs for transplantation for decades. This is known as forced organ harvesting.
The heart used in the first pig-human transplant was infected with a pig virus. This reveals that using other species as organ donors may not provide a solution for organ shortages.
New developments in organ transplants from animals show promise. However, there has been no public engagement about a potential risk. It may streamline a pathway to humans for new zoonotic diseases.
Lise Eliot, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Rather than distinctly male or female, the human brain is much more like the heart, kidneys and lungs – basically the same no matter the sex of the body it’s in.
Printing organs could reduce the need for human donor organs. And 3D printed organs using a patient’s own cells would increase successful organ transplants by reducing the risk of rejection.
Why are scientists trying to grow organs at the International Space Station? People live on Earth not in zero-gravity. A stem cell expert explains why it is useful to do these experiments in space.
The body tries to plug a wound quickly to stop germs getting in through broken skin and making you sick. But behind the scenes, your blood is working hard to repair a wound.
The idea of human-animal hybrids can raise a lot of questions and it’s easy to feel they are “unnatural” because they violate the boundaries between species.
Small wounds can usually heal by themselves, but larger wounds can be a problem. With a little help from a seaweed we can help the body regenerate new blood vessels.