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Jell-O Fix for Spinal Cords. From Wired News.

Stem cells embedded in futuristic materials may heal decades-old spinal cord injuries and rescue patients from paralysis, if recent experiments in rodents can be replicated in humans.

Stem cells have cured many rats of spinal cord injuries, but the treatment has yet to benefit humans. When it does, most scientists say the first treatments will benefit only the newly injured.

But Pavla Jendelova, a biologist at the Institute of Experimental Medicine in Prague, Czech Republic, found that adding stem cells to spinal implants made of hydrogels -- jelly-like polymers consisting of latticed networks of amino acids -- could build a bridge in spinal cords even with older injuries, and help patients to regain function.