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Growing bones is not as easy as using "Skele-Grow" potion from the magical world of Harry Potter. Scientifically, it involves dipping a sample into a calcium and protein solution, rinsing in water, dipping in phosphorous, and repeating. Over and over again.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge working on bone growth thought of a way to automate this process using a very familiar childhood toy: Lego. It's a bit more complex than the stackable bricks though. The team in the school of engineering used Lego Mindstorm, a DIY robotics kit, which can be programmed in just the right manner to free researchers of the tedious dipping process.
Daniel from Cambridge explains the technology in this Google Science Fair video:
Daniel recently gave a speech on his robotics experience at the 2012 Google Science Fair in Cape Town. This isn't the only way you could automate the process, Daniel said, but "Lego seemed like the simplest way."
[H/T Popular Science]
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