Are Lab-Grown Hearts the Key to Long Life? | Secrets of the Human Body | BBC Earth Science

[@AaronShenghao]

I like that instead of futuristic lab in science fiction, that lab is just as messy as my desk.

[@kevinclass2010]

Research labs are rudimentary compared to manufacturing-grade labs, where it should be cleaner than operating rooms.

[@FesteringRatSub]

Not a good lab manager

[@jeremybyington]

I’ve been reading and seeing videos about this since the late 1990s. The lab takes a donor heart, reduces it to a cartilage scaffolding, and then grows new cells from the recipient. The result will be an organ that will not be rejected by the recipient’s body and will last longer than a donated organ typically lasts with anti-rejection medication. I’m glad they are still working on this, but there are a lot of hurdles to overcome. The process to strip away the cells is cheap enough, but the process to multiply recipient stem cells takes a long time and the solution necessary to keep them alive and multiplying is insanely expensive right now. Maybe in another 20 years they will have it all figured out and THEN they can move on to producing the scaffolding tissue with a 3D printer that would ensure the most optimal size for the recipient and would have no flaws.

[@haywoodjablome44]

I have been too. I'm on a heart transplant list and this would be ideal.

[@rockyjohnson9243]

The AI will take this and advance it quickly. The biggest advancement today is CRISPR. Maybe 10 to 20 years and we will be able to make all organs. 3D printing them even.

[@XffTheGrid411]

Why don't they just use AI to do that since AI seems to be the new God that can do everything. 😄

[@spaceempire]

So in theory if one’s heart failed, he or she can temporarily have their hearts replaced by mechanical ones, during which the lab strip their heart of diseased heart cell and grow a new set of pluripotent stem cells on to the bare scaffold. When everything’s ready the new grown heart is then “re-planted” back to the patient, a renewed and reused organ, to and from the same patient, therefore no rejection, no long term drug needed. Just the thought of it is insane.

[@huldu]

I'm skeptical this just seems really messy. By the time we can do something as advanced like growing a new heart and things like that I'm sure the technology is so advanced you can make a heart that isn't biological hence not flawed by nature. Of course this applies to all our organs. The only thing truly unique about us humans is our brain and once the technology has come to the stage where people can make a copy of their brain that's when things get really interesting. The body by itself is only really fueling our brain so in a sense we don't need our body, it can be mechanical or rather non-biological. Then again at the stage I'm talking about we might not even need a brain but rather a storage(computer) to store the information. Our current form is just flawed. There are so many limitations and issues that evolution will not solve quickly enough. However we humans will in time be able to fix all problems. Maybe one day we humans are no longer really humans but we've evolved ourselves into something beyond that bound to the flesh. At this point we're probably going to more machine than anything else? We will travel between stars, not limited by age in any way.

[@yinnetteolivo]

Almost... the goal is to not even need to take the heart out. If heart disease is causing the heart physical damage... yes, take the heart out, eliminate the disease and put it back in! But also... if it is not heart disease and just under development, old age or trauma... then its using any cells... stomach cells, skin cells or blood cells to transform themselves into heart cells!!!! Crazy right!

[@erseshe]

Is growing a new heart really all that advanced? We're just copying what Nature already did. A healthy heart heals itself and regulates itself, usually for a good 30+ years without problem. Usually when it does have a problem it's because of misuse of a fault during fetal/childhood manufacturing. Meanwhile using artificial hearts just sounds like a maintenance hell. And so many cybernetics in one place sounds like both maintenance-hell hell and a future electrical hazard. In any case, there's a clear route in the biological side: Copy nature, become immortal, grow cat ears idk. Mechanically it's more uncertain, you could replace body parts, but would they be more efficient in the grand scheme of things, taking into consider maintenance? And uploading our brains is still basically fiction since we have no idea how the soul works at all. For all we know 'we' die when we go to sleep and resurrect as someone else that holds our memories and our ambitions.

[@glacousxx]

​@@huldu I understand to help people for healthcare issues but the human body is amazing and not as limited as it may seem . Its about time we start appreciating what we have , and stop being delusional and only imagining about the future all the time . honestly most of us don't even try to see what we can do . Thats just my opinion.

[@El_Gusanito]

Thank u bro, i was gonna watch the video but u summarized it.

[@forrestgypsy]

Dr Anthony Atala has been growing organs for years I first learned of his in 2009 . He's even transplanted lab grown organs.

[@Fb-gj5rn]

Damn. They have come a long way since I heard of some progress made in 2017/2018. Hopefully it does become a reality in our lifetime.

[@XstaticG]

Man I love science

[@Gurci28]

Bioprinting is a method that makes it possible to manufacture cellular structures from bioinks loaded with stem cells: layer by layer, the biomaterial is deposited to design skin, tissue or even an organ. Imagine a 3D printed heart, ear, lung or kidney, custom-designed with the patient's own cells. 4:06 [3Dnatives]

[@rockyjohnson9243]

@@Gurci28 Exactly seems we are researching the same thing :)

[@shawnmatthews5118]

I hope they perfect this technology soon. It may well save my life. I’d be happy to volunteer for any trial.

[@Reptanimalposts]

I bet one day we'll take a blood sample from someone and you can grow an exact organ replica for that person. It'll be a while but every organ, eyes, teeth, nose, skin, organs, everything can be grown in a lab.

[@Gurci28]

The main areas where 3D printing can be adopted in medicine are the production of pharmaceuticals and transplants. In the case of artificial organ and tissue production, 3D bioprinters are used instead of typical 3D printers. The 3D bioprinters differ from conventional 3D printers in the spectrum of the inks that they are able to print. However, 3D bioprinters are capable of printing biomaterials - live cells or cellular material, usually mixed in with polymers. This feature allows scientists to artificially create far more realistic tissue/organ structures. By Milda Alksnė, PhD 2:56 [Health News]

[@Gurci28]

A 3D printing process that uses the patient's own cells to grow organs would not only potentially curb that waiting list, but dramatically reduce the chances of organ rejection and likely eliminate the need for harmful life-long immunosuppressive medication. 3:03 [Fortune]

[@ManyHeavens42]

Good job Im Proud to know you People are hard at work saving mankind.thank you

[@juicejuice5013]

I love it the heart in the beginning kinda remind me of that salamander that can rejuvenate itself

[@RobloxGamingCorner]

That's pretty interesting, I wonder when these will be available for hospitals around the world, Actually it might take decades

[@tayofams2471]

With all these inventions and I still that get it as there’s no cure for arthritis.

[@greenstar2108]

Stem cell attrition isn't the only reason for thinking 115-125 years is the limit range, assuming no relevant medical advances. Another reason is that the extracellular matrix (ECM), which is kind of like the 'cement' between cells that is made of a complex mix of proteins and some other substances ,and that helps hold the cells of our bodies togetther, degrades over time. Failure of the ECM results in disease and death. For example, our arteries harden as we age due to the body trying to patch up damage to the ECM of the circulatory system, by using mineral deposits. This bodge job fills in the damage, but with hard minerals rather than the stretchy protein (called elastin) that our vessels etc, are originally partly made of. The result is that the arteries become less effective at their job over time, resulting in blood pressure increase and eventually some forms of stroke. Replacing stem cells doesn't necessarily solve that (although replacing whole tissues with stem cell derived 'young clones' presumably would). Viewers intersted in the tissue engineering approach to defeating aging might be interested in the work of neuroscientist Jean Herbert. He has given a number of talks/online chats about the topic that could be suitable for interested beginners on KZbin.

[@Smiley_101]

❤❤❤❤ 1000 percent this is what we need ! I likes 3d printing of our cellls or grow them into any parts of our body so growing old doesn’t have to be shitty for all of us . We really needs to get this study n accomplished asap

[@redacted-oo7ne]

“that’s what i hope for” lol very abrupt ending

[@PianoUniverse]

I wonder if the flushing of the donor heart removes disease like soft plack, calcified arteries and does it shrink an enlarged heart to it proper size as well as valve issues like aortic stenosis etc.?

[@Rawmon94]

correct me if im wrong, but what you claim is not entirely correct, the DNA also gets damaged over time which makes it unable to replicate anymore or wont be viable for life or in the worst case become cancerous. you cant rewind a clock with too many damaged parts, just doesnt work that way.

[@paaglimonicat]

🤔 genetic engineering manipulates genetic structures though

[@snyld]

actually cells with damaged dna are detected by the cell itself and then killed by the immune system or they go to senescense a state that a cell can no longer divide so that it can't inherit its dna. The rewinding clock is here that a normal or healthy cells are taken and exposed to Yamanaka called factors which are expressed mainly in embryonic times then these cells are differentiated and specialized and lost their potency to divide into many cell types. Healthy cells are presented a gene manipulation technique which cause cell to express these silenced factors to be expressed again like in the embryonic state. So this expression led cells to gain the potency again even if it was a differentiated cells which do not have potency to divide into many cell types. So these cells can also be given to body in exact or demanded places to divide into the differentiated cells that it was placed. The surrounding cells tell these induced stem cells that what cell ttype it should become.

[@glacousxx]

​@@paaglimonicatyeah but they'll never be how they are naturally .

[@rockyjohnson9243]

This is just the start. The real magic is being able to repair the cells themselves without ever having to remove a body part. Basically resetting the clock on your cell to day 1. This allows for regeneration of all organs, including the skin, eyes, hair everything.

[@robertobeltran9987]

That would be amazing isn't, but for resetting the clock on your cells to day 1, without ever having to remove a body part, there is still a long way off though

[@calliope4293]

From what I understand, lab-grown hearts have not yet been developed to the point where they are viable for human transplantation. While scientists have made remarkable strides in engineering heart tissues, the complexity of creating a fully functional, transplantable heart is still a significant challenge. Growing a heart involves not only replicating the tissue but also the intricate vascular and electrical systems that are essential for its proper function. Current advancements have allowed for the cultivation of heart cells and small tissue structures, which are useful for disease modeling, drug testing, and potentially for repairing damaged areas of the heart. However, creating a complete, fully functional organ capable of supporting life remains an ongoing area of research. This field is advancing rapidly, but the level of complexity involved means we are likely years away from successfully growing a full heart for transplant. Researchers continue to explore various methods, such as using scaffolds and bioengineering to promote vascularization, but it’s clear that this is a long-term goal that requires overcoming substantial biological and technological challenges.

[@NizamaniMansoor]

So , where did they get cells for this new heart grow?

[@multiyournext1705]

There needs to be a bigger investment in these companies. Science is crazy and difficult.

[@1995RangeRover]

I'd love to see this become successful ❤

[@brokenheart-ks4uf]

rather that to waste time in electronic gadgets world should focus to develop 3d printed biological organs which we can replace in our body

[@briancole5075]

Isn’t amazing this will happen in the future I know I won’t be around to see this it gives us hope for our future children.

[@rayrocher6887]

Thanks doctor, also messy lab, but genius is complicated, good work

[@Lilmiket1000]

I saw a special about this technology about a decade ago. Been really interested in it because my mom needs a lung transplant. Strangely enough we are in NC where the main hospital for pulmonary is and they claim to not know anything about this 😕.

[@rainbowsixODST]

I wish these interviewers would also for timeline estimates. Surely the good doctor has an idea of when this will go from the lab to field testing then to mass commercialization. 2030-2040? That seems a good time frame. Almost certainly by 2050.

[@Reptanimalposts]

Please whatever humanity does, dont mess up this lab work and others like it.

[@Reptanimalposts]

Its all in the genetic code right? Just need the right seed with the aprropriate nutrients for growth promotion. Need to figure out how to tell the organ to stop growing to prevent overgrowth and undergrowth.

[@ClassifiedDocz]

My dad was 58 when his heart attack took him his dad was 55 and the guy before that was 56… So this sounds way better than opting for a pace maker at 40 to beat the genetics and see 60 lol

[@calliope4293]

It is a fact that the development of lab-grown organs, including human hearts, could face significant cost barriers when it becomes commercially viable. The expense of manufacturing, developing, and implanting complex lab-grown organs will likely be high due to the cutting-edge biotechnology involved. Once such technologies are introduced into the healthcare system, they could drive up medical costs. Insurance companies, especially in markets like the U.S., are known to prioritize profit margins, which often results in increased premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for patients. As a result, it’s possible that lab-grown hearts could become unaffordable for many, as insurers may hesitate to cover such high-cost treatments. This could lead to significant disparities in access to life-saving medical procedures, with only wealthier individuals able to afford them unless reforms are made to healthcare policy and insurance structures. The increasing cost of medical technologies and the profit-driven motives of insurance companies have long been an issue, with concerns over access to necessary care, especially for transformative treatments like lab-grown organs, becoming a more pressing problem.

[@abymohanan9403]

Soon it's become reality, good luck👍🏻

[@amyjojinkerson-b6o]

this is indredable

[@halogamer1045]

Mass production of your organs

[@DavesInHisGarage]

When I'm ready to go I'm ready lol

[@manlikeak]

Ti's life. You cannot escape death.

[@RyanCooper-r9n]

For now​@@manlikeak

[@Todoolidoo]

Yes!

[@DennisMook-ky6lx]

My instinct is telling me that this heart you have created is a living thing as in a soul now if im right imagine the pain the suffering the torment the experiments. Obviously it will save millions but every living thing has a soul a heart for example very very unknown thing we are doing. Say what you will but if you are connected to the planet then you know

[@WilliamPalacio-r2j]

IT STILL IS,,A science fiction,,

[@lihe8820]

It's odd that they have not tested it on small mammals like rats or rabbits.

[@warlockboyburns]

heart, lungs, brain

[@robinsoncrusoe2355]

Looks very expensive 💸💸💸

[@emtrish3536]

imagine getting a heart transplant with a "Made in China" sticker on it

[@robertobeltran9987]

Well, just like Lily Munster said: Well I'm a little young for children, I'm only a 150 years, although you know what they say, a 150 is the new 100's, hahaha hahaha hahaha

[@Daimler-b6h]

Just watched a vid of this OTT dude doing the same grift 10 years prior.

[@Jim.Thunda]

Why the brain dead repetitive noise you call music ?

[@vinishvijayan6661]

What a foolish question at the end..or else why they are working on it?

[@joereyes5716]

Can you grow a new kneecap or repair and replace it ?😮

[@integr8er66]

So you fix the heart, so what about everything else? So now it will boil down to how much life you can afford

[@The_Trucker_Gamer]

After God separated from humans he set our life span at 120 years according to the book of Genesis. Befor that we lived for over 1,000 years.

[@petehboy2]

I'm a scientist

[@PirateRo333]

I'm surprised and disappointed by the BBC. Stem cells can be created by reprogramming other existing cells to make NEW stem cells. This gives the impression that stem cells handed out once are all there are and this is AT BEST misleading. I think if we're going to report on this technology, it's best to have someone in the field familiar with it.

[@RyanKingLogue]

Are you? Do you know about this stuff first hand?

[@PirateRo333]

@@RyanKingLogue Yes. Yes, I do.

[@RyanKingLogue]

@@PirateRo333 What do you do?

[@PirateRo333]

I'm a pirate. Says so right in the name. @@RyanKingLogue

[@Starcrash6984]

Neat, but kinda pointless towards the video title. Why would you want to prolong your life as an elderly person? Instead, it just sounds like a better replacement to an artificial heart.

[@DrRyan82994]

elderly that want to live a little longer ultimately be lining up to pay a lot of money for a new heart, and those people are probably a good chunk of investors in the technology

[@Starcrash6984]

@@DrRyan82994 Perhaps. We are biologically driven to fear death (otherwise we wouldn't survive very well). But when you wake up every day in pain, remembering all of the things that you used to be able to do but no longer can, death isn't as scary as it is for the young. Even at my age (43), spending far longer in this body sounds like more of a curse than a gift.

[@cupima]

👀 me in let's go team

[@adrianmejia4997]

This doctors wants to made a Frankenstein maybe yes like the old times just Frankenstein body's can live a week 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️no person in this earth can be god

[@ManyHeavens42]

I say again we are GOD. Why Die.

[@Jesus_Christ_loves_you_alot]

Hi there! Jesus says to you today: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest." -Matthew 11:28 May God bless you! 😊

[@anjalichauhan9505]

​@@Jesus_Christ_loves_you_alot then you go rest there.

[@tylergardner2466]

You will find put one day you are not God my friend

[@WilliamGibble]

O noooooo it's Abby normal 😅

[@gordonburns8731]

My choice is to live my life naturally, without any outside intervention.

[@martingoodef811]

Trying to improve on Gods creation ? Shouldn’t be doing this. 120 year life span, that’s biblical, read it. How long you live is dictated by Gods plan for you

[@azul6892]

People used to live over thousands of years before, human life span shortens.

[@emilian7052]

Wouldn't catch me with that bloody thing in me

[@swirlingbrain]

Genesis 6:3 🤔

[@Starcrash6984]

Matthew 2:14 and Luke 2:22. This is a science channel. Statements in the bible should not be taken as literally true, especially given the fact that they can contradict each other.

[@swirlingbrain]

@@Starcrash6984 I suppose it depends on who you listen to. Bible scholars say there is no contradiction and athiests say there is. Regardless, even scientists say there seems to be a 120 year lifespan limit.

[@Starcrash6984]

@@swirlingbrain I'd love a citation from a "bible scholar" that claims there isn't a contradiction. But the fact that there's disagreement doesn't mean that both sides are just as legitimate, as I imagine that even you would agree. Yes, _in this video_ scientists claim that there's a "120-year lifespan limit", but they argued for _why_ that is and why a stem-cell heart would change that. They aren't dogmatic, sticking to a belief just because someone said it.

[@swirlingbrain]

@@Starcrash6984 you will just discredit any citation so I will not bother. You must research it for yourself if you wish to change your own mind which I don't believe you are interested in doing.

[@Starcrash6984]

@@swirlingbrain What an assumption! I asked for a single citation, and you simply assert that I'll ignore it. What an easy way to _pretend_ that you have a source that you don't have. If I "research it myself", such as looking it up in the unbiased Wikipedia, one can easily find scholars that agree that those accounts can't be reconciled. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_Jesus#Critical_analysis After all, Luke ends with Jesus _going to the city that Herod reigned in._ That's not exactly what one does if one is afraid that Herod will find them. A plain reading makes this clear as well (Luke 2:39 makes it clear that from Jerusalem they just went back to Nazareth, giving no possibility of ever going to Egypt). And don't give me this "you have no interest in changing your mind" if this is also true of you -- that's just hypocrisy. Let's stop pretending that I ought to change my mind from your uncited non-argument while I presented you with cited evidence and it didn't even give you pause.

[@АртемПлысюк]

Hello! Do you think there will be technologies in the future where it will be possible to grow real human ligaments and tendons?

[@coffeepot3123]

As long as we don't give hearts like these to the elderly or big fat people.

[@illuminateme8182]

That’s why complete human clones and brain transplantation interests me so much! It’s a very unethical solution if the clone is truly conscious.

[@kapikoyli]

Ankebût Suresi - 57-60. Every living thing, sooner or later, becomes extinct.

[@armaanchowdhury1690]

Doesn't mean you can't live longer

[@tehjamerz]

No.

[@lovewillwinnn]

Nope. The key to long life is appreciation for, worship of, and love for and obedience to our Creator.

[@sarahnelson5022]

The Creator gave us our brains for a reason.

[@saltinodavito2135]

You wouldn't be saying that if you were the one that needed a transplant

[@krollic]

graceless

[@Z1BABOUINOS]

Cancer in 3 .....2 .....1 ....💥

[@JG-wr7bh]

o thanks. nature has given us a mortal life, not an artificially prolonged one. there are enough people who are attached to their lives but we are normal people. the example with the sick children is totally exaggerated, that's what makes the whole thing palatable for everyone. especially if there are so many sick children and then you have to ask yourself why are the children sick or why can this woman only bring sick children into the world. artificially preserving or extending life is not natural and new diseases will definitely occur. man is mortal and nobody should play god. Power and greed is always a bad advisor, history is full of it and, as always, man learns nothing from it.

[@salmanansari-gn1lk]

Miracle miracle miracle