First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

Achieving success in the field of regenerative medicine will depend in part on our learning how best to manipulate cells in vitro in order to elicit therapeutic responses after implantation into patients. The traditional approach to tissue engineering is to combine cells with biomaterial scaffolds in order to create a template for tissue formation. There is a huge body of literature describing the science behind this type of approach but only relatively few clinical trials that shed light on the feasibility and efficacy of turning this interesting science into useful medicine [1]. A number of recent clinical studies have provided important insights into what might be achieved using a range of different techniques. Some examples of these are reviewed here in order to provide an overview of where this young field has got to and some of the challenges that lie ahead.