Food and drink packaging from seaweed and animal hides, beer six-pack rings, mouse ears for humans, vehicle pigments, carbon fiber for building materials, hempcrete, and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of April 8th

#3 Mouse Ears! Ears grown in mice using biomaterial mold help people with microtia

In Mexico, a specialist in regenerative medicine was able to take cells from a patient’s cartilage and grow ear-shaped cartilage in lab mice that are then implanted in people who have a malformed ear. The ear is created using in vitro cartilage cells in a biomaterial that acts as a mold. The biomaterial mold dissolves and disappears in about a year and only the newly formed cartilage in the shape of an ear is left behind.

This was recently tested on a nine year old boy making it the first implant of its kind in the world. Eight months later and it is considered a success and the scientist is already working on cultivating cells from three more patients for future ear transplants.
More on the story, here.