Posted on 02/28/2005 1:29:01 PM PST by orionblamblam
Some will think it a romantic gesture, others will find it grisly. But one willing couple in the UK is about to get the chance, thanks to a government-funded project intended to promote awareness of the issues surrounding tissue engineering.
"It's for people who want to give a bit of their body to each other," says Nikki Stott, a jewellery designer at the Royal College of Art in London. She and her colleague Tobie Kerridge are collaborating with Ian Thomspon, a bioengineer at King's College London.
The tricky part is that the lucky couple will have to provide bone cell samples, for which the team will get ethical approval only if both people already need surgery. The most likely scenario is that both will need wisdom teeth pulling, Thompson says.
Ring-shaped scaffold During that procedure, an extra sliver of bone can be sliced from the jaw to yield bone cells. These cells will be grown on a ring-shaped scaffold structure, which will slowly dissolve as the cells colonise it.
The rough bone circles will then be given to the designers, who will consult with the couple and shape the bone into customised rings. Each partner will give the other the ring grown from their cells.
One possibility is that the rings could be used as wedding bands. "There is nothing in law that states what a wedding ring can or cannot be made of," says a spokesperson for the Office of National Statistics, the body that enforces the UK's marriage guidelines.
Interested couples can apply through www.biojewelry.co.uk. The team says this is a one-off, and they have no plans to start a commercial venture.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
In my experience women are more accepting of bone BEFORE marriage.
With this bone, I thee wed.
Man: It's made of bone.
Buddy: Oooh. Fancy. What type of bone?
Man: It's made out of bone cultured from my wife's jaw.
Buddy: Oh...(Scurries away to call police)
I blame this on Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie.
nuff said...
Yes, but would they give their eye teeth for each other?
Guess what Angeline Jolie will do for her next marriage...
Okay, you beat me to the Jolie joke, but what about a "jawbone of an ass" joke?
Mary Moon.....white courtesy phone
You guys are too funny, LOL.
I can hear the bride's response now:
"You didn't get me diamonds?!?! I'm not marrying a cheap B*****D like you!!!"
Would you say the same think about Angelina Jolie carrying a vial of her husband's blood around her neck? ; )
This is close to the most disgusting thing I've ever heard of and a complete gimmick. Very, very poor investment, too; you can get ivory for $5 on Ebay and have someone carve it into a ring if you're that intent on having a bone ring.
Yellow gold's OK but can get ugly if worn constantly as a wedding ring. Silver's a huge pain. Very little beats the beauty of white gold and platinum, and platinum's lower maintenance. Don't get a band with any jagged edges, you'll regret it. My idea of a good everyday ring would have completely inlaid stone(s) with no sharp corners to snag on hair.
YMMV.
/jeweler's daughter
//status symbols are dumb
My husband said (with tongue firmly in cheek : ^) ): Ain't nothin' wrong with teeshyoo enjeeneerin'. I reckon, folk be growin' all sorts of stuff in them there peetree dishes.
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