Scientists create tiny heart in a dish

A tiny beating "heart in a dish" has been grown by Israeli scientists in a world first which will offer hope to millions of cardiac patients. Such laboratory-reared tissue could one day be used to repair heart attack damage, prolonging and improving the quality of life of tens of thousands of individuals each year. It could also cut the need for transplants, and, if used to test drugs, reduce the risk of dangerous side-effects when new medicines are finally introduced to patients. Researcher Lior Gepstein, a cardiologist, said, "This could have a huge impact. Heart failure is a huge problem. It is responsible for more hospitalisation than all forms of cancer combined." The Israeli research team used human embryonic stem cells - blank cells with the ability to turn into specialised tissue types. Crucially, they found a way of persuading the different types of cell which form the heart to grow and work together. The result was a tiny piece of heart muscle - less than one centimetre square, but threaded with minute blood vessels to resemble the complex tissue of the human heart. It has a beat, continually contracting and relaxing in the same way as heart muscle. The generation of blood vessels improves the possibility of success of any tissue grafts, because the heart needs a large and ready supply of oxygen. The researchers hope to refine the technique to create sections big enough to take the place of muscle scarred by heart attack. The ultimate hope is to reduce the need for transplants.