TALLAHASSEE, Fla., May 22 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists are developing technologies that could lead to the laboratory replacement of bone mass lost as a result of disease, accident or combat.

Florida State University engineering Professor Teng Ma and colleagues are developing technologies to generate bone cells in a laboratory that could be transplanted into patients.

"Currently, there are two sources of bone that can be used for performing corrective grafts -- the patient's own body and human cadavers," Ma said. "Both of these have severe limitations. There is a limited supply, obviously, of bone tissue that can be taken from one part of the patient's body to be grafted onto another. And with cadaveric bone, immune response and the possibility of viral infection remain a concern."

The study, which involves Tulane University Associate Professor Bruce Bunnell and Feng Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher at Florida State University, is being funded by an $824,000, four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.

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