Save The Boobs

I was just remaking to my dental hygienist yesterday the flawed unpleasantness of breast implants and how spectacularly awful and unnatural they can look. But science has heard my cry, and implants could soon be a thing of the past. Researchers have developed a new technique to regrow breasts on pigs using their own tissue (insert sexist joke if you need) — and it's ready to be tested on human mastectomy patients.

Neopec is a new stem cell technique for regrowing breast tissue. The researchers implant a chamber containing some of the individual's own fat tissue under the skin. The chamber is connected to the individual's blood vessels, and fat then grows to fill the chamber, creating a new breast. The chamber itself degrades naturally over time.

The scientists have had success with Neopec in pig trials, with the pigs growing new breasts in just six weeks. In the next three to six months, they plan to start a human trial on women who have had partial or total mastectomies. It's hoped that the technique will someday alleviate at least one aspect of the breast cancer diagnosis, and says that while Neopec might have some cosmetic applications down the road, he doesn't see it being used for cosmetic purposes in the next 10 years. However, the procedure could replace breast reconstructions and implants within three years if it works.