Glassy, resilient bone-capping
cartilage has long eluded
tissue engineers trying to
grow it in the lab.
New joint tissue
could keep people
moving, reducing
need for knee or
hip replacements
CARTILAGECREATION
By Nathan Seppa
Cartilage, the shock absorber of the body, has been bearing the brunt of a modern lifestyle. This nerveless connective
tissue allows bone to glide over bone
without any repercussions—most of
the time. But human cartilage evolved
in an earlier age, in ancestors who lived
shorter lives, carried less body weight
and roamed an unpaved world. Now-
adays, cartilage takes a constant and
prolonged beating from which it has
poor capacity to bounce back.
