Science File / An exploration of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment : Scientists Grow Artificial Ear on Backs of Laboratory Mice

Boston researchers have been able to grow an artificial ear composed of human skin and cartilage, but it may be two to five years before the technology is sufficiently advanced to implant the ear on patients. Researchers from MIT and Children’s Hospital of Boston created an ear-shaped scaffolding of a porous, biodegradable polyester fabric and implanted it on the back of mice lacking an immune system and thus unable to reject foreign cells. Growing the ear on mice allows the animals to provide blood and nutrients for new tissues that are formed.

Cartilage cells implanted in the fiber proliferated, producing the skeleton of an ear suitable for implanting on a patient. The ear can then be removed from the mouse’s back without harm to the mouse and, theoretically, implanted onto a person. The team believes that the same technology can be used to grow noses and other organs that are not readily available from donors.