"Grown to order" ears

Rob Waugh reports for Metro that

Scientists have grown a LIVING human ear on the back of a rat


Japanese scientists have shown off a rat with a LIVING human ear growing on its back – and claim that ears could be ‘grown to order’ within five years.

The technique could be used to help people born with facial deformities.

Researchers from Tokyo and Kyoto University turned human stem cells into cartilage cells – then placed them in tiny tubes shaped like human ears on a rat’s back.

Over the course of two months, the plastic framework dissolves – leaving an ear-shaped mass of flesh on the animal’s back.

At present, replacement ears are made using cartilage taken from the patient’s ribs – in a painful and time-consuming process.
The new breakthrough offers hope that people could grow their own replacement ears from just a small sample of cells.