The artificial bone, porous and coated with a thin layer of calcium phosphate, is implanted into the arm in place of the damaged bone.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR

Within a few weeks, the remaining real bone attaches itself to the implant and grows through the porous scaffold, encasing the implant in living bone within 18 months.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR

Sea coral naturally contains calcium carbonate and possesses a porous architecture not unlike natural bone.

BBC: Coral heals serious fractures