science

How the treatment worked:

1) One of the patient's two olfactory bulbs was removed and the olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) were grown in culture

2) 100 micro injections of OECs were made above and below the damaged area of the spinal cord

3) Four strips of nerve tissue were placed across an 8mm gap in the spinal cord. The scientists believe the OECs acted as a pathway to stimulate the spinal cord cells to regenerate, using the nerve grafts as a bridge to cross the severed cord

Via BBC:

Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.

The treatment, a world first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London.

Details of the research are published in the journal Cell Transplantation.

Hey awesome kids, stop making me feel all inferior and stuff. That's not cool.

Congrats to Mas Sumbramanian and his team out at Oregon State University for the discovery! He said the following in an official OSU press release:

"It was serendipity, actually; a happy, accidental discovery.

The basic crystal structure we’re using for these pigments was known before, but no one had ever considered using it for any commercial purpose, including pigments.

Ever since the early Egyptians developed some of the first blue pigments, the pigment industry has been struggling to address problems with safety, toxicity and durability."

"So what instrument do you play?"

"Well, I play the keyboard, but it gets visualized by A TABLE MADE OF FIRE."

Sweet science is dropping those modern medical miracles on us like whaaaaat.