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Nature 421, 884-886 (27 February 2003) | doi:10.1038/421884a

Open Innovation Challenges

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Tissue engineering: The beat goes on

Catherine Zandonella1

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Four years ago, scientists claimed they would grow a functioning heart in the lab within a decade. That now looks like wishful thinking, but Catherine Zandonella finds that tissue engineers haven't given up on their grand vision.

Perhaps it was just millennial hubris, but in 1999 the world seemed full of enthusiasm for science and technology. The NASDAQ high-tech stock market was booming; the Human Genome Project was racing towards completion.