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The Exotic Technologies Institute Grants for
Medical Research The Exotic Technologies
Institute will provide medical research grants for tissue engineering, adult
stem cells, healthy proven fat reduction concepts, yoga, protein printing regeneration technology, cell printing ,nanotechnology
enginnering for biological structures. The scientific
revolution takes place at the nanometer scale where it is envisioned that scientists will be able to improve existing materials
and develop new materials for everything from microsystem devices to drug delivery systems. Thus nanotechnology offers the
basis for numerous improvements on today's materials and technologies including medical diagnosis and therapeutics. The research
in the laboratory is directed towards solving biomedical problems with nanotechnology. The research involves deposition of
proteins in patterns or arrays using the protein printer, a device developed in the laboratory. Protein printing allows high
throughput, fully automated deposition of a variety of biomolecules such as DNA , proteins, antibodies or drugs onto polymeric
supports such as petri-dishes or tissue engineering scaffolds. Currently, the device is used to analyze 300,000 potential
anti cancer drugs for their ability to prevent angiogenesis. Cell printing is the extension of protein printing to entire
cells. The cell printer developed in the laboratory is fully automated and allows to deposit live cells with 500 nm precision
on to supports such as tissue engineering scaffolds. Current research includes the deposition of enothelial cells for in vitro tube formation, single cell microculture and single cancer cell characterization.
A novel, molecular based approach to designing small diameter
vascular grafts in which the material is engineered to provoke a desired biological response, is undertaken. The approach
blends the design of an artifical surface at the molecular level with genetic engineering of cells capable to recognize the
surfaces. This project explores strategies to mimic the cellular environment of the intima in a synthetic vessel, possibly
inhibiting platelet adhesion and improving the success rate of small diameter vascular graftsScientists at UCLA and the University of Pittsburgh have isolated fat as the first practical, plentiful and economic
source of stem cells used to grow a variety of human tissues in the laboratory. In
effect UCLA and University of Pittsburgh team has found a brand new biological material resources. These biological material
resources can provide near term replacement solution to the current fetal stem cells technology. There is a great potential
for regenerating many tissues. Some day the same fat tissue to stem cell technology will create solid organs, glands, nerves
and brain tissue. The research team, which details the discovery in the April edition of the peer-reviewed journal Tissue
Engineering, is the first to grow human tissue - bone, muscle, cartilage and fat - using stem cells harvested from fat. The
team obtained the fat using liposuction. Previously, stem cells for tissue engineering research had been harvested from bone
marrow, brain and fetal tissue. The limited sources had posed a variety of logistical and ethical challenges for medical community.
The availability of the plentiful source of stem cells will accelerate development of new procedures for repairing and replacing
damaged, dead or missing tissue in people. "Until now, we had not identified
a good source of stem cells, which can be thought of as the building blocks of tissue engineering," said Dr. Marc Hedrick
of the UCLA School of Medicine's Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the research team's primary investigator.
"Fat is perhaps the ideal source. There's plenty of it. It's easy and inexpensive to obtain. It even has a secondary cosmetic
benefit. "Our findings show that fat is not the tissue we once thought. Just as the Industrial Revolution transformed oil
from trash to treasure, our research shows that unwanted human fat actually is a vigorous tissue with a tremendous amount
of potential for good." The researchers said the discovery could render the controversial use of fetal tissue obsolete. "We
don't yet know the limits for stem cells found in fat. So far, we have seen promising results with all of the tissue types
we have examined," said Dr. Adam J. Katz, a member of the research team from the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "This discovery potentially could obviate the need for using fetal tissue."
Immature and unspecified, stem cells are key contributors to the body's ability to renew and repair its own tissues. They
are unique in their ability to mature into two or more different types of specific cells, depending on their environment.
Researchers grow different tissues in the laboratory by manipulating stem cell environments. "Stem cells are like little kids
who, when they grow up, can enter a variety of professions," Hedrick said"A child might become a fireman, a doctor or a plumber,
depending on the influences in their life - or environment. In the same way, these stem cells can become many tissues by making
certain changes in their environment." Stem cells already are used as a treatment for leukemia and some joint repairs. With
fat as a plentiful source of stem cells, researchers may be able to accelerate the pace of overcoming obstacles that prevent
broader applications. These challenges include finding ways to supply blood to larger tissues, control growth and maturation,
and eliminate scarring. "We're just figuring out the best ways to apply this technology, but expect the first practical uses
for laboratory-grown tissues to enter the medical marketplace within the next five years or so," Hedrick said. "We hope one
day to be able to remove diseased tissue or organs, harvest stem cells and replace the lost tissues on the same day during
the same operation. There is potential for regenerating a lot of different tissues, perhaps some day solid organs, glands,
nerves or brain tissue."The Wunderman Family Foundation provided primary funding for the research team. Other contributors
include the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, the Plastic Surgery Education Foundation and American Society for Aesthetic
Plastic Surgery. Patricia A. Zuk and Dr. Min Zhu of the UCLA School of Medicine co-authored the paper.. The Exotic Technologies Institute will provide medical grants to the right individuals and the successful
organizations pioneering the frontiers of high technology. Therefore the Exotic Technologies will provide medical grants to
the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Institative, Dr.Mark Hedrick at the UCLA School
of Medicine Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Dr.Adam J. Katz Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medience. Dr. Hiroshi Mizuno, Jerry Huang, Dr. Prosper Benhaim and Dr. H. Peter
Lorenz,Dr. J. William Futrell of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Patrica A. Zuk and Dr. Min Zhu of the UCLA
School of Medience
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