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Organ failure is one of those annoying problems many of us face — often sooner than we want to. The good news is that there are a lot of organs you can live without. You probably already know, for example, that your appendix and tonsils can be removed entirely without any harm done. But there are several other organs you can live without, or replace with synthetics, that you didn't know about. Get ready for a body without organs in our helpful guide to five organs you can can get rid of. More »
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Two new artificial organs rolled out in the past week are going to make things a hell of a lot easier for people with malfunctioning (or absent) heart valves and kidneys. The first device (pictured) is an artificial heart valve that can replace the part of your heart that pushes blood through your body. Being born without a heart valve (you have two, a right and a left) is a common congenital heart defect. Most people get it repaired with a cadaver valve — the valve from a dead person or a dead pig. Those work great, but are prone to infection. So this artificial valve could save lives. And the wearable artificial kidney is even cooler. More »
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