A new programme at the US Department of Defense funds regenerative medicine to help wounded vets, but a surprising level of detail seems top secret
Cell-holding scaffolds might help regenerate faces of severely injured veterans
AFIRM, MIT
As body armor improves, soldiers are less likely to be wounded by bullets. Explosive devices now account for more than 75% of injuries sustained by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike a bullet, which pierces a single spot, explosives tear away skin and muscle.
"In this war the wounds are more horrific," says Colonel Bob Vandre of the US Army Medical Research and Material Command in Fort Detrick, Maryland. "You can have big pieces of tissue and bone torn away." He's putting his hopes in science. "Using stem cells and biodegradable matrixes may allow us to regrow that tissue.
Amy Coombs1 , Nature
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