The effort comes amid growing concern about the risk of brain injuries in football, but the scope extends well beyond concussions to bone and joint injury, heart disease, depression and chronic pain that affect many players long after their careers are over.

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Dr Tzou and his colleagues are looking at uses ranging from cutting out burnt skin and melanomas, to dentistry, bonding joint implants to bone, and general surgery.

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For decades, the primary method to treat factures has been to use metallic hardware such as plates, screws and pins or a total joint prosthesis combined with standard bone cement known as Poly-Methyl-Methlacrylate (PMMA).

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These drugs also can cause joint pain, and in rare cases a buildup of bone in the jaw.

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The most serious bunions are treated with a joint-fusion surgical procedure known as a lapidus bunionectomy, in which the first metatarsal and the next bone back, a cuneiform, are fused together.

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