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Published online 10 November 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.1075

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Engineered penis raises reproduction hopes

Complete replacement of erectile tubes makes rabbits rampant again.

Daniel Cressey

Researchers have successfully constructed functional erectile tissue that, when grafted onto rabbits who had their penises surgically removed, enables them to both copulate with and impregnate females.

The research team, at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, says it is the most complete functional replacement of erectile tissue reported to date and raises real hopes for future therapy in humans.

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  • This is very interesting, I am 70 years of age, can this procedure also help older persons with urinating problems, this may be a major help in the aging population. Thanks, Glenn

    • 11 Nov, 2009
    • Posted by: Glenn Florence

  • What's the matter with the paper? It has not yet appeared in the web site of the PNAS. The DOI does not resolve, either.

    • 13 Nov, 2009
    • Posted by: Hideaki Ogasawara