[ti:Re-Growing Human Body Parts] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.12]The ability to regenerate or recreate missing body parts [00:06.88]sounds more like part of a science fiction story than reality. [00:14.16]But researchers are finding evidence that regeneration may be [00:20.36]possible someday in the future with improvements in technology. [00:27.68]They imagine using 3D-printing to make a kidney for someone in need of a replacement. [00:37.84]They also talk about possibly using bioelectricity [00:43.36]to cause cells to build new tissue and organs. [00:50.56]These ideas and others were discussed earlier this month [00:55.44]at the World Science Festival in New York City. [01:00.76]The presentation was called "Forever Young: The Promise of Human Regeneration." [01:09.56]Scientists talked about the future of regenerative medicine, [01:15.82]which combines the body's ability to heal itself with progress in biomedical engineering. [01:27.00]Dany Spencer Adams is a research professor at Tufts University in Massachusetts. [01:35.40]He told VOA that researchers have found that bioelectrical signals [01:43.12]can lead to cellular processes in frog tadpoles. [01:50.80]He said such signals may someday start the formation of nerves, [01:58.48]muscles and other body parts. [02:03.00]"This is the cells themselves using electricity to communicate," he said. [02:11.08]In an experiment, a frog re-grew one of its legs in six months. [02:19.24]But scientists first had to make changes [02:24.04]in the characteristics of the animal's cells. [02:29.76]Researchers say they have a lot more work to do [02:34.20]before the process can be used on human beings. [02:39.52]They have to learn which bioelectric signals [02:43.60]can influence the formation of which organs. [02:49.04]Adams says "it's better to regenerate that organ so that [02:54.68]you don't have issues of the immune system attacking, [03:00.36]the way we do now with transplants. [03:04.52]The hope is that we'll be able to help the body create a better replacement [03:11.52]-- really, a perfect replacement, for the person of exactly what they've lost." [03:20.16]Jonathan Butcher is a professor and biomedical engineer at Cornell University in New York. [03:28.96]He and other researchers have combined mechanical engineering [03:35.01]with developmental biology to create working heart valves from 3D-printed tissue. [03:44.84]Children may get the most help from engineered organs [03:50.88]or partial organs that can grow as the child does. [03:57.72]I'm Anne Ball. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM