Building bone from clay

    The discovery that layered clay can stimulate stem cells to become bone cells could lead to a new generation of tissue engineering.
    Synthetic silicate nanoplatelets can induce stem cells to change into bone cells without requiring any other bone-inducing factors. It is believed that the nanoplatelets could be used to create injectable tissue repair matrixes, bioactive fillers, or therapeutic agents for stimulating specific cellular responses in bone-related tissue engineering.
    Layered clay is a common material, used in items such as glass, ceramics and food additives.