Can "Pixie Dust" Grow Body Parts?

Wouldn’t it be great to know that you could replace any of your body parts? The process of regenerating parts of the human anatomy has been a part of science fiction for a very long time and it wasn’t until recently that people have begun to really get into the idea. There is now a major medical study being pursued by top medical facilities and the Pentagon; it involves the use of ‘pixie dust’ which is a powder created from tissues extracted from pigs.

How Pixie Dust Grows Limbs

The whole idea of this study revolves around the fact that at one point in our lives, we had stem cells in our bodies that created the limbs, joints and bones we have today (they are still there, but were deactivated at birth). While in the womb, we began at basically nothing; then we started to generate a head, arms, legs, fingers, toes, etc. So with the pixie dust, the body is tricked into doing this again. The powder itself does not cause re-growth.

High Research Investment Ensured Success

Over $250 million has been dedicated to this research. One of the study subjects is an American Soldier whose finger was blown off during a bomb attack. He is under close watch at the Brooke hospital (where the nickname pixie dust was dubbed) to ensure that the powder doesn’t cause unwanted cancerous growths. Only part of his finger is missing, so it is their hopes that the finger will eventually fully grow back.

If this powder proves to work, it could help many American soldiers and would eventually expand out to help civilians. Scientists have successfully re-grown a dog’s uterus, placed it in the dog and it still was able to have puppies!

Researchers have also successfuly grown a human bladder and implanted it into a patient. The doctors are keeping close watch for any adverse side effects. The next steps are to recreate other body organs, such as kidneys, livers and even hearts.

If this technology gets off the ground and has no dangers, our world could witness a new growth for humanity – no pun intended.

Image courtesy mikecolvin82