Three men who conspired to plunder corpses and sell the sometimes diseased body parts were sentenced to prison Oct. 22 in Philadelphia for what victims said was a gruesome, greedy scheme that violated basic principles of trust and human decency, the Associated Press reports. In New Jersey, meanwhile, a federal judge ruled against some of [Sign in to read the full article...]

A French doctor has spent the past 15 years developing a fully implantable artificial heart that combines animal tissue, titanium and missile technology. The doctor says the device perfectly replicates the human organ, according to London’s Telegraph newspaper. The device is covered in specially treated pig cartilage to avoid rejection by the body’s immune system, [Sign in to read the full article...]

Pres. George W. Bush on Oct. 14 signed into law the Stephanie Tubbs-Jones Congressional Gift of Life Medal Act (HR 7198). The bill, introduced by Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), creates a commemorative medal for organ donors and their families, recognizing the brave act of organ donation. The Congressional Medal is [Sign in to read the full article...]

Plans to allow scientists to use hybrid animal-human embryos for stem cell research won final approval from British lawmakers last week. The House of Commons also clarified laws that allow the screening of embryos to produce babies with suitable bone marrow or other material for transplant to sick siblings, the Associated Press reports. Legislators voted [Sign in to read the full article...]

Molecular biologists from the California-based biotechnology firm Genentech reported last week that they had grown prostates in mice from single cells, marking an important step forward in the quest to grow transplant tissue in the lab, Agence France-Presse reports. The four-person team said they achieved the feat after identifying a primitive, powerful stem cell in [Sign in to read the full article...]