Wednesday, May 1, 2013

3D Printing Post 3 of 4



The next topic in 3D printing that I would like to discuss is organ and tissue duplication. The below link gives some information about progress in printing live liver cells.

http://qz.com/78877/how-soon-will-we-be-able-to-3-d-print-entire-human-organs-sooner-than-you-think/

This article begins by asking the question, why do we focus so much on the negative possibilities of 3D printing? I think that this is a very good point; many people find out you can make a gun or bomb with a 3D printer and that is all they will remember about them.

The positive possibilities of 3D printing are clear, when one considers medical science. This San Diego based company has created live liver cells that functioned for upwards of 135 hours. This period of time is obviously not particularly useful to someone who needs a new liver, but if they can create cells that live 135 hours one can only hope that cells that live 40-50 years may be soon to come. Other companies and institutions are also working on biological aspects of 3D printing. Scientists at Oxford are apparently close to combining stem cells and 3D printing, which would open up that particular brand of science to many more possibilities.

One other interesting fact I found in this article is that some meat companies have been working on replicating bovine cells to produce 3D printed beef. I personally would not like to be the first person to test this artificial meat, but if you are concerned about animal cruelty then meat that was never killed could be coming soon to a store near you. Also, as I have expressed in the past, I am concerned about starvation problems for future generations. If we can print meat and plantation in the future, then maybe farm lands will become unnecessary.
Works Cited

"Coming Soon to a 3D Printer near You: Human Tissue and Organs." Quartz. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2013.

1 comment:

  1. Print the guns that blow your organs away, print new organs, print your surgeon, print your boca burger... I don't know whether to be terrified or tantalized.

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