Engineering Synthetic Cartilage
February 18, 2014 | Terry Sharrer
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) were the first generation of American children to participate in organized team sports. Now, a half century later, the demand for joint replacements and artificial cartilage is soaring. In a process that resembles the making of reinforced concrete, materials scientists at Duke University have created synthetic cartilage from layers of woven polymers that are flooded with hydrogel. It is strong, bendable and shear-resistant, and is now being tested in animals. MORE
Image Credit: Frank Moutos and Farshid Guilak and Science Daily