Name: Could we treat spinal cord injuries with asparagus?
Uploaded: 2020-11-20T15:52:45Z
Duration: 7 min 18 s
Description: Take a mind-blowing trip to the lab as TED Senior Fellow Andrew Pelling shares his research on how we could use fruits, vegetables and plants to regenerate damaged human tissues -- and develop a potentially groundbreaking way to repair complex spinal cord injuries with asparagus.

Take a mind-blowing trip to the lab as TED Senior Fellow Andrew Pelling shares his research on how we could use fruits, vegetables and plants to regenerate damaged human tissues -- and develop a potentially groundbreaking way to repair complex spinal cord injuries with asparagus.

Could we treat spinal cord injuries with asparagus?

Researchers have uncovered a way to use fruits and vegetables, like apples and asparagus, as scaffolds to help repair damaged human tissue. In a striking experiment, an apple was carved into the shape of a human ear, sterilized, and seeded with human cells that successfully grew inside. The team then used asparagus to create microchannel structures that guided nerve regeneration in paralyzed animals, with some regaining movement. These plant-based implants are now advancing to human clinical trials after being recognized as a breakthrough by the FDA.