Lab-grown skin to replace bunnies in makeup trials

[Sledgstone 8,672]

http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/07/30/labgrown_skin_t.html

We may be decades away from eating meat that's been grown in a lab, but we should be starting to benefit from lab-grown skin in the very near future. Scientists at L'Oreal have invented a product called Episkin, which is basically a layer of skin cells grown from human "donor skin cells" in a Petri dish. These small amounts of skin can be used to test beauty products that would have otherwise been tested on animals. Episkin can tan, and can be made to "age" with high exposure to UV light.

The skin is being hailed as an important step in cruelty-free cosmetics, at least in Europe, where an animal beauty product-testing ban sets in 2009 (the practice is banned in the U.K. already). We'd like to think that lab-grown skin would be yet more useful: shouldn't Episkin be seen as an important step towards lab-grown (and therefore cruelty-free) pork crackling?

save those bunnies!

[Eppy 3,446]

yes bunnies are made for eating not makeuping!

[CabbitGirl 4,018]

yayyyy =^-^= more bunnies to roam freeeee!

[Mathias 426]

Now the bunny population will grow out of control and kill us off in twenty years. We have just doomed ourselves and the race in a whole.

[Wolflord 1,488]

I dunno about anyone else, but I refuse to eat meat grown in a lab.

That's good, I always thought that animal testing was already illegal

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Off the original topic, I will never eat meat grown in a lab. That definitely does not help the environment, infact it totaly f*cks it over. Cows, pigs, and chickens would have to be exterminated for population control... might as well keep eating them. That is the way nature intended it.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

no artificial meat for me either. eww

the idea of grown skin used to test shit tho is an excellent idea and a long overdue one

[Mathias 426]

That means I'm out of job! No more perfume in the eyes for a twenty spot. Now, how will I provide for my family?

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I think this technology could be used for greater purposes like burn victims and skin cancer.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

That is a good idea.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Yeah, but sadly you know it will be used for more wasteful things like cosmetic surgery. make everyone look young again that can afford it. 90 year old women looking like 20 year olds. That is a scary thought @_@.

[Dubird 6,815]

DX: well, if they're going to do animal testing anyways, I'd rather they test for things like helping cure cancer rather than cosmetics. This can at least that that out of the equation. *shrugs*