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Stem cell therapy to grow bigger breasts?

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

The TimesOnline had a post: Stem cells to grow bigger breasts, which includes text:

The cells will be isolated from a woman?s spare fat, once it has been extracted from her thighs or stomach, using equipment owned by GE Healthcare, a technology company. The concentrated stem cells will then be mixed with another batch of fat before being injected into the breast. It takes several months for the breast to achieve the desired size and shape.

Until now, when fat was transplanted to the breast without extra stem cells, surgeons had difficulty maintaining a blood supply to the new tissue. Surgeons believe the double concentration of stem cells under this technique promotes the growth of blood vessels to ensure a sufficient blood supply circulates to the transplanted fat.

The same technique has been used in Japan for six years, initially to treat women with breast deformities caused by cancer treatment and, more recently, for cosmetic breast augmentation in healthy women.

As between cloning dogs and growing bigger breasts, one wonders where the money lies...

***Meanwhile, back at the californiastemcell ranch, Terri Somers is again mentioned:

Somers also noted the broad nature of the Novocell patent. She wrote:

"Many patents are for a method, or scientific process for making something, sort of like a high-tech recipe.

"The patent Novocell received is for composition, meaning it is not for how to make the endoderm cells, but the actual cells 'the product of the recipe.'"

She said that such patents have been controversial, citing the example of those held by Jamie Thomson of the University of Wisconsin. Some have argued that the patents on Thomson's work are so broad that they impede science.

Same old playground arguments: California-related patents good, non-California-related patents (eg, Thomson/WARF) bad.
The Novocell patent is US 7,510,876.

Full post as published by IPBiz on April 02, 2009 (boomark / email).