The prospect of creating artery "banks" available for cardiovascular surgery, bypassing the need to harvest vessels from the patient, could transform treatment of many common heart and vascular ailments. But it's a big leap from concept to reality. The Morgridge Institute for Research and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will address both the engineering and biomedical hurdles in this process through a five-year, $8 million project funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) affects around 15 million people in theU.S. alone, and globally up to 30 million. For most victims, vitamins and pain relief are the best treatment available.

But Professor Pete Coffey of University College London is pioneering a new therapy that could stop the disease in its tracks, and restore vision to the blind, through the London Project to Cure Blindness.