Scientists create working human heart tissue out of spinach

Scientists have created working human heart tissue out of spinach (Picture: WPI)

Lets face it, spinach is pretty great.
And now we’re being told that not only is it a great addition to a stir fry – it can also be turned into working human heart tissue.
Yes, really.
Scientists who were struggling to make large-scale human tissue (because it was way too difficult to recreate the tiny, branching network of blood vessels) have had a breakthrough…
And they have done so by turning plants – namely spinach – into tissue.

   

It could be used in the future to treat heart attack patients (Picture: WPI)

Day by day images show the development (Picture: WPI)

In a paper that will be published in the journal Biomaterials in May, it was revealed that despite plants having a having very different ways of transporting fluids – the structure of the parts doing so are very similar.
According to the Independent, to create the heart, the team stripped the plant cells from spinach leaves.
Fluids and microbeads – similar to human blood cells – were then sent through the spinach’s vessels.

The structure is similar (Picture: WPI)

Scientists have published the findings in a paper (Picture: WPI)

Step by step shows the process (Picture: WPI)

And then the scientists planted human cells (which are used to line blood vessels) into the spinach.
In the paper, it is claimed that eventually, the same technique could be used to grow layers of healthy heart vessels.
It could even be used to treat heart attack patients, it is alleged.
Go spinach!