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Jacket Grown from Living Tissue
RangerRick98 writes "Wired has a story about growing jackets from living tissue. The jacket is grown using "a biodegradable polymer as a base," a coating of 3T3 mouse cells (which apparently continue to grow and split even after being removed from their host), and human bone cells for rigidity. The jacket grown so far is only about 2 x 1.4 inches. The hope is that when the polymer degrades, the jacket will retain its structure. The focus behind this work is 'victimless' leather."
Why don't scientists instead concentrate on breeding a cow that enjoys being eaten and having it's skin made into leather goods?
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
I'm calling prior art.
My second thoughts were "Hmm, I wonder how I'd look in a mouse coat".
Paul Lenhart writes words!
I'm thinking: same technology, but keep the jacket tissue alive, and stick some nerve cells and audio production equipment in there somewhere.
Imagine how many PETA heads you could explode if your jacket cried out in pain when you busted a seam or whimpered with hunger if you hadn't spilled any food on it recently.
> The focus behind this work is 'victimless' leather
This is great news. Hopefully someday soon we can grow all of our leather clothing. Once we attain that proud accomplishment we can then dump the remains of cows slaughtered for meat in a landfill instead of using their hides for clothing.
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
I'm going to have to lose a ton of weight to fit into a 2" x 1.4" jacket...
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
[fill in person]
DNA is the ultimate spaghetti code.
The artists claim to be making a point about our loose and casual attitude to life, by making us aware that we casually wear dead things.
I find it extraordinarily creepy that these people would criticise our attitude to life by combining mouse skin cells and human bone cells into a living coat. I find this manipulation of living things far more disrespectful to our environment, and all things living than harvesting the hide of dead cattle.
As one poster already pointed out, its not like we slaughter cows just to wear their skins, and toss the rest of the cow in a landfill. Its not like it really improves the cows outlook once it reaches the slaughter house.
Even if this ends up being more economically viable then using cow hides, this will still offend those who view this kind of science as an abomination. Instead of slaughtering cows for their skins, were now tinkering in 'gods' playground, pissing around with the building blocks of life.
And the sort of person who complains about using leather is also likely to be the sort that complains about genetically modified foods.
END COMMUNICATION
When this is all said and done, and there will be no more innocent animal victims, but the planet is going to be the victim of overpopulation from animals, letting off CO2 and methane.
Yes, it's important that we don't kill off all animals, and yes it's important that they're treated humanely, but my lunch and winter wear is darned important too! Not to mention the ability to live on a safe and hospitable planet.
Jiminy jillikers people.
"We're growing cattle for their meat anyway, why waste the leather?"
1. Every additional consumer purchase contributes to the economic viability of the producer.
EVEN IF you disagree with the animal rights activists, this is simple math.
2. Instead of asking, "Why waste the leather after the slaughter?", how about asking, why not use this process to *replace* the need for slaughter, i.e. why not work toward making this process an economically feasible substitute for producing meat?
The focus behind this work is 'victimless' leather."
So where do they get the human bones from? Or aren't we supposed to ask that?
It rubbs the lotion on its skin...
Seamless leather clothes, grown exactly to your dimensions -- now that's something I'd pay money for! Most of my leather jackets seem to come apart at the seams after several years of continuous use and abuse... can they also genetically engineer these cells for different pigments and eliminate the dyeing done on most natural leather products?
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
Next they should work out how to grow pure cotton fibres so they can save the senseless slaughter of millions of cotton plants every year... just so us hairless apes can stay warm!
I'm outraged that they have chosen the ignoble cow to save, itself guilty of torturing living plants (did you know they eat them alive... then chew them and grind them up several times before sending them to four, count them four stomaches to be slowly and cruelly digested via the use of ACID!).
A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
At the least, what the pictures have shown is not leather. Leather is what you have after tanning a hide (a process which usually involves chemicals or enzymes, if I recall correctly). What is shown is raw hide, untreated skin (and, in this case, bone).
I grew up in the rural areas of the northern Rocky Mountains, and I've seen more than one disembowled deer corpse hanging from a garage ceiling--among other things that would make a vegan howl in rage (after heaving, of course). Those images still disturb me, as does the concept of engineering flesh and bone from two different species to create an item of clothing.
And I can't help but wonder how they got the human bone cells for that ghastly project.
~UP
Eat the Path.
Burns: Some men hunt for sport, Others hunt for food, The only thing I'm hunting for, Is an outfit that looks good... See my vest, see my vest, Made from real gorilla chest, Feel this sweater, there's no better, Than authentic Irish setter. See this hat, 'twas my cat, My evening wear - vampire bat, These white slippers are albino African endangered rhino. Grizzly bear underwear, Turtles' necks, I've got my share, Beret of poodle, on my noodle It shall rest, Try my red robin suit, It comes one breast or two, See my vest, see my vest, See my vest. Like my loafers? Former gophers - It was that or skin my chauffeurs, But a greyhound fur tuxedo Would be best, So let's prepare these dogs, Mrs. Potts: Kill two for matching clogs, Burns: See my vest, see my vest, Oh please, won't you see my vest.
Uh, wow. What's next, a chair made of human skulls?
[o]_O