There are several methods for producing new cells. One involves using therapies and engineered implants that help the body produce its own replacement cells. A prime example in this area is the InFUSE Bone Graft technology that allows the body to generate new bone. Another involves taking cells from other sources and implanting them into the area of damage. These include autologous cells, which are taken from other areas of a patient's body; allogenic cells, which are taken from a different individual; and xenogenic cells, which are taken from another species.

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors or VEGF is one of the bio-technologies now being investigated to treat ischemic heart disease. VEGF is the natural growth stimulant that allows the endothelial cells that line the cavities of the heart and blood vessels to multiply. This results in the generation of new tissues and vessels.

Placental growth factor (PlGF) is another growth factor targeted to the treatment of coronary disease. PIGF is based on recombinant DNA technology and is being studied as a biomarker for heart disease.

Various types of ACT have been researched to stimulate regeneration of the heart muscle. In humans, skeletal myoblasts, harvested from a muscle biopsy, or hematopoietic stem cells, harvested from the bone marrow or peripheral blood, or mesenchymal stem cells, harvested from the bone marrow have also been investigated as cell sources for ACT.

The harvested cells can be transplanted in a variety of ways, frequently as an adjunct to coronary artery bypass surgery, for example, either by injecting directly into the non-functional heart muscle, or injecting into a coronary artery or coronary sinus.

Nanotechnology has the potential to significantly impact the effectiveness of cancer treatment and other therapies. Multiple researchers have now begun to develop this type of nanotechnology-based chemotherapy.

At Sasisekharan Laboratory at MIT, scientists are studying and manipulating nanotechnology into a new and unique "Smart Bomb." This technology utilizes a combination of anti-angiogenesis drugs and chemotherapy, which are then combined in a double balloon-like nanocell. The initial targets of the technology are melanoma and lung cancer.

The nanocell is designed like a big balloon with a smaller balloon inside. The larger ballooon goes into the tumor and then bursts. This releases an anti-angiogenesis drug that cuts off the blood supply to the tumor. This traps the smaller balloon inside the tumor. Starved of oxygen and nutrients, the tumor begins to shrink. As a byproduct, the shrinking tumor releases toxins that act on the smaller balloon causing it to burst. As the smaller balloon bursts it secretes the toxic chemotherapeutic agents. Because there is no blood supply to the tumor, the chemo toxins are not released into the patient's system.

There are many advantages of Smart Bomb technology. One is that its size (200 nanometers) makes it small enough to pass through tumor vessels but too large for the pores of normal vessels. This allows it to only target a tumor. Another advantage is the cancer has less of a chance of metastasizing. The patient will also have fewer side affects such as hair loss, sickness and bone marrow problems that can complicate recovery.

In cancer treatment, the goal of researchers is to make use of the dendritic cells' ability to trigger the T cell response. This will allow the T cells to treat the cancer cell as a foreign invader that needs to be repelled and neutralized. Clinical trials are being preformed on lung, breast, prostate, and renal cancers.

DC technology also can be used as a vaccine. To make a dendritic cell vaccine, scientists extract some of the patient's dendritic cells and use immune cell stimulants to reproduce large amounts of dendritic cells in the lab. These dendritic cells are then exposed to antigens from the patient's cancer cells. This combination of dendritic cells and antigens is then injected into the patient and the dendritic cells work to program the T cells.