Takeaway: growing bones

Can these animals help victims of accidents and bone cancer patients?

Scientists use pig intestine to grow human bones in the lab

First, they clean the intestine from all pig DNA

The blood vessels are carefully preserved

Next, they fill the intestine with calcium phosphate

They add the patient’s stem cells for a personalised implant

After surgery, this should become a healthy bone

In 5-10 years, scientists hope to bring this method to clinics