The front page of the Austin American-Stateman (newspaper) includes a story
about research to enable women to "grow their own breast implants."    It
says, and I quote:
"If early work on laboratory animals succeeds, the researchers -- within
three to five years -- will remove a tissue sample from somewhere in a
woman's body, use it to grow additional cells in the lab, then implant the
cells in the woman's breast.  There they should multiply and mature into
REAL BREAST TISSUE."  (Yes, I'm shouting).  In the accompanying diagram, it
says Step 1: A small tissue sample is taken from another part of the body
with fat and muscle cells similar to breasts -- the thigh, for example."

Am I am fanatic, or is this unbelievably stupid and ridiculous????

Later on in the article, it says: "Inside the body, the cells continue to
multiply, but they start acquiring the characteristics of most breast tissue
-- except for mammary glands that produce milk."

AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE????

Please, those of you who feel strongly about this -- complain to your local
paper.  This is an Associated Press story, by Steve Sakson, so will probably
get wide distribution.  Also, complain to the researchers working on this
(using taxpayers' money) -- they are at the Charlotte, North Carolina
hospital (Carolinas Medical Center) and Dr. David Mooney, Dept. of Chemical
Engineering, at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.  Rights to sell the
eventual technique have been licensed to Reprogenesis, a Dallas based
biotechnology company.

Fuming in Texas, and practicing my Lamaze breathing techniques to try to
calm down......


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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email: [log in to unmask]
Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352