Researchers develop an artificial nerve: ability to bring damaged limbs and organs back to life

The idea of a bionic nerve has seemed a thing of the future, but it now seems as if researchers at the University of Michigan have come one step closer to the future by developing an artificial nerve. What this could mean is that if you have a damaged limb or organ then this artificial nerve could bring it back to life.

In some tests fat tissue was taken from adult animals and differentiates them into nerve cells, this was then used for repair and regeneration. The team who did these tests was UK Centre for Tissue Regeneration which was headed by Dr. Paul Kingham; they will now take the tests one step further by using human volunteers. The artificial nerve will be made from a biodegradable polymer, the nerve looks like a small tube and will be inserted between two cut nerves, this will then allow for nerve fibers to spread from one end to the other.

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