To repair complex or oddly shaped tissue defects, an injectable cell carrier is desirable to achieve accurate fit and to minimize surgery, he says.

FORBES: Nanofiber Spheres Allow for Tissue Regeneration

Once at Selly Oak, many patients will have numerous trips to the operating theatre, sometimes between 10 to 15, often for complex reconstruction work and skin or tissue grafts from one part of the body to another.

BBC: Treating brutally injured soldiers

"This is an exciting study showing that tissue engineering can be a viable option for complex urethral repairs, " said David A. Vorp, a professor of bioengineering and cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, who was not involved with this study.

CNN: Scientists 'seed' cells, make new organs

The complex includes a training center for farmers, a demonstration plot and research and tissue-culture labs.

FORBES: Magazine Article

It is the way tissue engineering should be going - getting the body to regenerate itself rather than trying to grow complex body parts in a test tube.

BBC: Breasts