[Jewelry making - Article 00606] - [Orchid] Oh, dear Gussie! New "gem" material

[Steelybone]

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    Source: New Scientist:  
    http://www.newscientist.com

    Cultured bone offers novel wedding rings
    09:30 26 February 2005 - Jenny Hogan 

          Some will think it a romantic gesture, others will find it
          grisly. But one willing couple in the UK is about to get the
          chance, thanks to a government-funded project intended to
          promote awareness of the issues surrounding tissue
          engineering. 

          "It's for people who want to give a bit of their body to each
          other," says Nikki Stott, a jewellery designer at the Royal
          College of Art in London. She and her colleague Tobie Kerridge
          are collaborating with Ian Thomspon, a bioengineer at King's
          College London. 

          The tricky part is that the lucky couple will have to provide
          bone cell samples, for which the team will get ethical
          approval only if both people already need surgery. The most
          likely scenario is that both will need wisdom teeth pulling,
          Thompson says. 

          Ring-shaped scaffold 

          During that procedure, an extra sliver of bone can be sliced
          from the jaw to yield bone cells. These cells will be grown on
          a ring-shaped scaffold structure, which will slowly dissolve
          as the cells colonise it. 

          The rough bone circles will then be given to the designers,
          who will consult with the couple and shape the bone into
          customised rings. Each partner will give the other the ring
          grown from their cells. 

          One possibility is that the rings could be used as wedding
          bands. "There is nothing in law that states what a wedding
          ring can or cannot be made of," says a spokesperson for the
          Office of National Statistics, the body that enforces the UK's
          marriage guidelines. 

          Interested couples can apply through
          http://www.biojewelry.co.uk  The team says this is a one-off,
          and they have no plans to start a commercial venture. 


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