Raises some interesting ethical questions.Doctors in Boston have transplanted a pig kidney into a 62-year-old patient, the latest experiment in the quest to use animal organs in humans.
Massachusetts General Hospital said on Thursday that it was the first time a genetically modified pig kidney had been transplanted into a living person.
Previously, pig kidneys had been temporarily transplanted into brain-dead donors.
Also, two men received heart transplants from pigs, although both died within months.
The patient, Richard "Rick" Slayman of Weymouth, Massachusetts, is recovering well from the surgery last Saturday and is expected to be discharged soon, doctors said on Thursday.
Transplant surgeon Tatsuo Kawai said the team believed the pig kidney would work for at least two years.
If it fails, Mr Slayman could go back on dialysis, said kidney specialist Winfred Williams.
He noted that, unlike the pig heart recipients who were very sick, Mr Slayman is "actually quite robust".
Mr Slayman had a kidney transplant at the hospital in 2018, but had to go back on dialysis last year when it showed signs of failure.
When dialysis complications arose requiring frequent procedures, his doctors suggested a pig kidney transplant, he said in a statement released by the hospital.
"I saw it not only as a way to help me, but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive," said Mr Slayman, a systems manager for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
That's their problem.It would be difficult to say the least to acceptance among those adherents.
MickA theory that the Romans used a type of ” concrete that is superior to modern building material and helped keep their monuments standing for 2000 years has been backed up by a discovery at Pompeii.
Experts at the buried Roman city say excavated builders’ tools and materials help explain why buildings such as the second-century AD Pantheon in Rome, which has the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, is still in good shape.
“The concrete they used was the great invention of Rome and is the secret behind their building,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of Pompeii.
Researchers at MIT in Massachusetts discovered last year that the Romans used quicklime – a key ingredient in concrete – in a manner different from that previously believed. Instead of mixing it with water before adding it to other materials like ash and stone, the lime was mixed with the materials first. Only then was water added.
The process, known as “hot mixing”, generated heat so the first benefit was that Roman concrete was warm when applied, making it dry faster.
The second, crucial, benefit was the formation of a by-product, so-called lime clasts, which are small but visible white particles.
Archeologists thought the particles were impurities caused by careless concrete manufacturing but the MIT team realised they were key to its durability.
They discovered that when cracks form in the concrete and water enters, the lime clasts dissolve and reform, filling the cracks and strengthening the concrete.
The researchers, who announced plans to commercialise the Roman concrete, have now had a chance to confirm their findings at a real Roman building site, thanks to the excavation at Pompeii of a house that was being rebuilt at the time ash and pumice buried the town during the 79AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
“We have found material which was in a wooden box and likely undergoing hot mixing at the time of the eruption,” said Zuchtriegel.
“Until now, archaeologists did not think to preserve building sites they found at Pompeii. We had photos of materials used but they were not kept, or placed in store.
“But this is a moment frozen in time which confirms the technique was being used at Pompeii and helps explain the bigger picture about ancient Rome.”
Probably "uneconomic" in modern times.Given the quality of building cnstruction in these modern times, it has always puzzled me as to how it is that some of the ancient monuments last for thousands of years, but some of the later ones can't last ten.
Now some research into ancient concrete making methods may provide some answers.
From Evil Murdoch Press
Mick
Mercury is actual pretty amazing ****.Who knew you cannot take mercury onto a plane.
Aluminum and Mercury
https://youtu.be/IrdYueB9pY4 When mercury is added to aluminum, it forms an amalgam (a mercury alloy). Aluminum is normally protected by a thick oxide layer, bstao.ca
Mick
Mercury is actual pretty amazing ****.
If I chucked one of my anvils in a pool of Mercury, it would float... And there are several other amazing things about it
Sounds much like Peter Higgs observations on academia.Very much worthwhile watching this video. What it's really like in academia, pretty chilling really.
Given the quality of building cnstruction in these modern times, it has always puzzled me as to how it is that some of the ancient monuments last for thousands of years, but some of the later ones can't last ten.
Now some research into ancient concrete making methods may provide some answers.
From Evil Murdoch Press
Mick
This is a really big deal.For centuries builders have been aware that Roman concrete was exceptional in it;s capacity to last and selkf heal. But no one understood how this happened,
To be able to replicate this process would be a major advance in building construction. I think if it becomes well proven it should become mandatory for many constructions.
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