Turns out pirates might have had it right all along – a new wood-based synthetic bone could be the modern day answer to the peg leg. This extraordinary material was made when Italian scientists heated rattan wood and mixed it with calcium and phosphate, and is so realistic that, when implanted, human bones will actually fuse with it over time.

Watch video coverage of this story at BBC.

[PopSci]

Image: a macro cross-section of a human hip bone, from patrix (Flickr Commons)

Filed under: Biomedical, e-News, Materials

Tags: Biomedical, Materials