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Produce Organs...From Printer

Posted by Hemos on from the haul-out-your-old-inkjets dept.

Gavinsblog writes "New Scientist reports that researchers have modified desktop printers and filled them with suspensions of cells instead of ink. Apparently the work is a first step towards printing complex tissues or even entire organs. Amazing technology. " Well, I guess this could give a whole new meaning to "watermarking".

6 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. New form of terrorism by horcy · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Now we dont get antrax filled envelopes, but they'll print some sort of organic killer stamp on the envelope that will come off the moment you touch it and will make the kill... omg... am i dreaming again ;/

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  2. Skin grafts.... by oliverthered · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I didn't think most tissue would be 'printable' it's to complex. so don't expect a new set of lungs any time soon.

    The process may be usefull for skin cultures or other simple single cell types. I beleive there are already other quite efficient techniques out there though.

    --
    thank God the internet isn't a human right.
  3. Re:And in other news by whimdot · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I see the bbc are reporting that biometrics are gaining ground for user authorisation. Who will be first to print a retinal pattern?

  4. Star Trek explained... by CommieLib · · Score: 2, Interesting

    One of the things that always cracked my suspension of disbelief wide open was the medical technology on Star Trek. Specifically, whenever the doctor (choose your favorite) would pass a light over someone's arm and the wound would close.

    It seems to me that this could be the reality, give or take 100 years, to that dramatic device. Start with a good gash in someone's arm, something bad enough to require stitches and would leave a scar with our current technology. Doctor takes a hand held "flesh printer", that "prints" either a rejection neutral flesh cover to the wound (more Star Trek tech) or a genetically specific cover (maybe presampled and supplied in the device, or even more fancy dynamically sampled and generated).

    So muscle injuries require more involved work, but a shallow tissue wound can be fixed more or less on the fly.

    Real doctors: start your engines. What's stupid about this idea? It is of course more complicated than simply laying the skin over top; blood vessels and nerves would have to be reconnected, depending on the damage. I would appreciate a thoughtful critique.

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    If your bitterest enemies are people who hack the heads off civilians, then I would say you're doing something right.
  5. Re:Hmmmm.... by websaber · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Judaic scholars have been discussing that a lot longer than you might think, and the consensus that I know of is that it would be considered kosher. If my memory serves me correctly 2000 years ago (good memory huh...) the Talmud was already asking the kosher status of an animal that was born by caesarian section which would have the same status as a printed piece of meat as it would be considered made by man. However the only real answer will come when they actually print one.

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    "A good friend will bail you out of jail. A true friend will be sitting next to you saying, 'damn....that was fun!'"
  6. Re:There's been recent work on this by ocelotbob · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I disagree here. I can see it as being quite possible to print out the proper texture of a decent steak. All you would have to do is put a good steak under the microscope and analyze the patterns of where the cells are, and how they're shaped. From there, you merely have to map different types and cuts of meats and save them on computer to get different flavors.

    Just like an inkjet printer uses different ink tanks - some have up to 8 now for different colors - the hypothetical steakjet printer could have different lengths and textures of cells, and the cook merely tells the printer which pattern of cells to print out. Say one set of cells for filet mignon and another for a nice porterhouse

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    Marxism is the opiate of dumbasses