One of my wonderful student massage clients, perhaps triggered by me saying something about fascia (connective tissue), told me about and later sent me a link to this fascinating article, How Pig Guts Became the Next Bright Hope for Regenerating Human Limbs, about how extracellular matrix (ECM), formerly thought to be a kind of structural scaffolding, is actually

primarily a collection of signaling proteins and information that is held within the structural molecules.

ECM can be inserted where tissue has been damaged and destroyed, and somehow it manages to recruit the body’s own stem cells to rebuild nerve, muscle, and other tissues.

It holds promise for regenerating tissues in damaged limbs, preventing the need for amputation, and healing serious wounds without scar tissue.

Thanks, Bruce and Discover magazine.