Email journal: June 16, 2006 Things have been very busy since my stem cells arrived two weeks ago. The cells, which were derived from adult bone marrow, came all the way from California. When I first got them, they were in a one-inch vial frozen on dry ice. I immediately transferred them in a solution of growth factors, hormones, and proteins and proceeded to spread them out on a plastic flask. The cells quickly got out of hibernation and began to multiply and divide. Since then, I have been watching them grow and flourish in their new home in Worcester. What keeps me so busy is the process of splitting the stem cells into new flasks. When the cells multiply, they need more and more space in order to survive. I started with just one flask, moved on to two, then 6, and now 15. At the same time, I am taking some of the cells (about 2 million at a time) and freezing them down for later use. In the end, we hope to have about 100 containers of these cells to work on. In next few weeks, Dr. Lyerla and I will be experimenting with the natural chemicals and growth factors that transform stem cells into bone cells. Once this is perfected, we will seed the cells on the scaffolds and cross our fingers that we actually get bone! Wish us luck, Harrison