Body clock with parts that never wear out.

• British scientists are working on regenerative thearapies that could provide elderly people with long lasting body parts.
• To begin with the project aims to provide long lasting hips, knees and heart valves.
• The Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, Leeds University has already performed a hip transplant that could last for life.
• According to scientists, the combination of the cobalt chrome metal alloy sockets and ceramic balls provide the joints a long lasting life.
• The scientists are also working on transplantable tissues and organs that the body can make on its own to avoid the fear of rejection. The process involves the taking out of the required part from a healthy donor or other animal and the cells are gently stripped away using a combination of enzymes and detergents. The heart valve scaffold is then trasplanted into the patient without any fear of rejection. Trying this on animals and 40 patients in Brazil have shown promising results. Trials are also being conducted on donor skin for burns patients.