Friday, June 10th, 2011

Video Pick: Growing Hearts and Bones

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Build them the right home and cells will organize themselves into a tissue. Bioengineer Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, of Columbia University, focuses on designing environments to grow hearts, bones and blood vessels. We stopped by to see a little piece of beating heart muscle they grew in the lab and keep in an incubator in the corner. (Credits: Additional footage courtesy of Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic's Lab. ) Viewed 10835 times. See More Videos

Bioengineer Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, of Columbia University, says that while her lab focuses on growing tissue, the cells are the real tissue engineers. Her job is to provide them with the right environment to let them do their job. Science Friday stopped by her lab to see the cells in action.