cartilage cells
"In addition, mature cartilage cells are like nerve cells in that they do not divide. This means that they do not self repair and do not propagate."
"The analogy I give my patients is that cartilage cells are like bricks without the mason. Since they are cells that are alive, they have some limited ability to rearrange and maintain themselves as well as produce their own mortar (called ECM), but they can't do much complex repair without a brick mason."
METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.