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How to grow a bone - Nina Tandon

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TEDEd Animation

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Can you grow a human bone outside the human body? The answer may soon be yes. Nina Tandon explores the possibility by examining how bones naturally grow inside the body, and illuminating how scientists are hoping to replicate that process in a lab.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

Want to learn more about bone growth and the skeletal structure of the body? Visit this site and find out all about joints, bone remodeling and growth. The Science Squad has a great video on Growing Bones for you to watch and learn some of the newest ways to help injured athletes heal.

Does Wolf’s Law interest you? How does NASA prevent astronaut bone loss while in space? Visit this page and find out. How might these studies help people here on Earth? Check out the article: Bone Loss Prevention Experiment on the Last Space Shuttle Flight and find out! Then read, Good diet, proper exercise help protect astronauts’ bones.

Find replacement bones a fascinating subject? The New York Times article: Replacement Bones, Grown to Order in the Lab provides more insight into this biomedical engineering phenomenon. For the very latest from Smithsonian Magazine, read this article, then visit the EPIBONE site to find out more! Educator Nina Tandon’s TED Talk: Could tissue engineering mean personalized medicine?, may also answer some of your questions. You can also visit her TED Bio site to discover more about her ideas, book, and blog.

Does 3-D printing amaze you? Read “Print Thyself,” and find out how medicine is using 3-D printing to both enhance and save people’s lives. This TED Talk by Molly Stevens: A new way to grow bone, will discuss how scientists have harnessed the regenerative capabilities of bones to produce large amounts of bone tissue in the absence of pain!

Finally, visit the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Medicine to learn information about the possibilities that are here now and yet to come.

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About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Nina Tandon
  • Collaborator Nafissa Yakubova, Jon Bernhard, Sarindr Bhumiratana
  • Director Barry Chapman
  • Producer Caoimhe Ni Bhradaigh
  • Artist Patrick O'Callaghan
  • Narrator Nina Tandon

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