Cartilage Regeneration '20,000 Leagues Under The Sea'; Rice University Engineers Use High Pressure To Stimulate Growth Of New Cartilage
Bioengineers at Rice University have discovered that intense pressure -- similar to what someone would experience more than a half-mile beneath the ocean's surface -- stimulates cartilage cells to grow new tissue with nearly all of the properties of natural cartilage. The new method, which requires no stem cells, may eventually provide relief for thousands of arthritis sufferers.