Science Focus
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Scientists working in pigs have used gene therapy to convert a small area of heart muscle into a specialized group of cells that can initiate a heartbeat, essentially creating a biological pacemaker.
Normally, the heartbeats of pigs, as in humans, originate from a specialized clump of cells called the sinoatrial node. Sometimes diseases of the heart's electrical system can compromise this node and cause abnormal heart rhythms, which are often treated by implanting an electronic pacemaker to regulate the heartbeat. Some 300,000 electronic pacemakers are implanted in the U.S. alone every year...
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» see original post http://theweek.com/article/index/264931/this-biological-pacemaker-is-all-muscle
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