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Scientists "Print" Human Vein With 3D Printer

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the because-we-can dept.

An anonymous reader writes "3D Printing technology has recently leapt into a new realm — we've seen printers that can create entire buildings out of stone, delicious meals out of simple ingredients, and now — perhaps weirdest and coolest of them all — a printer that can build body parts from cells!"

94 comments

  1. Obvious question by Pojut · · Score: -1, Troll

    Can it print junks? Specifically the "nether region" variety...

    --
    Living With a Nerd
    1. Re:Obvious question by omnichad · · Score: 2, Funny

      For those who want two or three, perhaps? Specifically to add to other regions for convenience and multitasking?

    2. Re:Obvious question by Pojut · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A friend with three is a friend indeed!

      --
      Living With a Nerd
    3. Re:Obvious question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I knew it...soon our inboxes will be filled with spam like "Pr1nt 12 1nche5 in 1 H0ur, Guarant33d!"

  2. There are 12 models by gparent · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dun dun dun!

    1. Re:There are 12 models by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fII9hH2UH8o

      hardly dun dun dun its been dun dun dun before.

    2. Re:There are 12 models by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      Am I the only one who read that as "There are 12" models?

    3. Re:There are 12 models by gparent · · Score: 1

      I don't know what that is... so few people got the BS:G related joke though, *sigh*. =P

  3. But can it scan and fax? by Orga · · Score: 2, Funny

    Who cares about printing.

    1. Re:But can it scan and fax? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought being able to print a body part or two would be pretty big amongst /.?

  4. We're following this company? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/12/04/1828211/Organovo-Has-Its-First-Commercial-3D-Bio-Printer

  5. So when do I get my replicator? by TheRedDuke · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

    1. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by g0bshiTe · · Score: 1

      Unexpected Exception in application SPOOLSRV.exe Windows will need to reboot in order to recover.

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    2. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by DeadDecoy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Screw that, how soon until I get my own kung-fu Milla Jovovich to save the universe.

    3. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by rubycodez · · Score: 1, Funny

      screw the universe, I've got a job for your Leeloo where she doesn't even need to stand up

    4. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by geekoid · · Score: 2, Interesting

      How about an smart on?

      "Tea."

      After the fiorst time, it should know how the hell I want my tea.

      And Damn Star Trek fro that. As someone who has enjoyed Earl Grey tea since the 70's and I like Star Trek all of a sudden I was 'copying' Capt. Picard. That not just insulting that I would choose a beverage based on what a fictional character enjoys, but that if I did that it would be from Picard!

      For a while I just drank Double bergamot to avoid the obvious and incoming remarks.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    5. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by geekoid · · Score: 1, Funny

      Screw that, how soon until I get my own kung-fu Milla Jovovich to blow me.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    6. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by dkleinsc · · Score: 2, Funny

      Be careful, or you might get a machine that always gives you a drink that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. Share and enjoy!

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    7. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Leeloo needs a multipass first.

    8. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by Zerth · · Score: 1

      Waiter, there is Core Dump in my soup!

      Please modulate your tone, Sir, or everyone will want one.

    9. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by damien_kane · · Score: 1

      Be careful, or you might get a machine that always gives you a drink that is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. Share and enjoy!

      Don't hate on drinks that are almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. With one, you can do even the most infinitely improbably things, like visit Earth.

    10. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by bkr1_2k · · Score: 2, Funny

      screw the universe, I've got a job for your Leeloo where she doesn't even need to stand up

      You're limiting your variety extensively, much to your loss I suspect. But to each their own. If I had a Leeloo I'd definitely have her standing up, seated, bent over, in the shower, and any other way I could accomplish with gravity, or without since we're dreaming anyway.

      --
      "Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional."
    11. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It exists already - it's called Rooibos!

    12. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by BattleApple · · Score: 1

      How about an smart on?

      sorry, but I had to stop reading right there.

    13. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by element-o.p. · · Score: 1

      As someone who has enjoyed Earl Grey tea since the 70's and I like Star Trek all of a sudden I was 'copying' Capt. Picard. That not just insulting that I would choose a beverage based on what a fictional character enjoys...

      Meh, why worry over it? I also like Star Trek (even TNG) and enjoy Earl Grey tea as well, but I've never caught any flack over the coincidence (and like you, that's exactly what it is). My response to any one who would make comments that I was copying Capt. Picard would be, "Don't you have anything relevant or at the very least, interesting to worry about?"

      --
      MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
    14. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by ignavus · · Score: 1

      Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

      Having root access, I had already added

      +arsenic

      to the file /etc/print/tea.conf

      Just think of the clear skin you will have.

      --
      I am anarch of all I survey.
    15. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by Sulphur · · Score: 1

      How about an smart on?

      Can the Head On people sell it?

    16. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by Chuk · · Score: 1

      I actually first tried Earl Grey because of ST: TNG. But I drink it lukewarm, because I'm different and edgy like that.

      --
      chuk
    17. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by element-o.p. · · Score: 1

      You're a bad boy, all right. Next thing you know, you will be adding cream and sugar to it, too :)

      --
      MCSE? No, sir...I don't do Windows. Yes, I am an idealist. What's your point?
    18. Re:So when do I get my replicator? by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      You can create body parts, and you ask for... TEA?

      How about t..its! :D

      Or even a load of hot but dumb and horny women?

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  6. Those other things are really interesting... by clone53421 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Since TFS didn’t:

    we've seen printers that can create entire buildings out of stone, delicious meals out of simple ingredients

    References: 3-D Printer Creates Entire Buildings From Solid Rock, MIT’s Digital Food Printer Creates Nutritious Meals

    --
    Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    1. Re:Those other things are really interesting... by lbmouse · · Score: 1

      Thank you. The author must have forgot about the internets that can create links out of hypertext.

    2. Re:Those other things are really interesting... by Wisconsingod · · Score: 1

      Slashdotted....

    3. Re:Those other things are really interesting... by ikeman32 · · Score: 1

      I’ve just had an epiphany.

      That must have hurt.

  7. They get you with the cartridges by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Red-blood-cell-gut-and-bone cartridges are not balanced to printing needs.

    You are always running out of blood when you still have nearly full gut and bone reservoirs. But they make you replace the whole cart.

    1. Re:They get you with the cartridges by Red+Flayer · · Score: 1

      You are always running out of blood when you still have nearly full gut and bone reservoirs. But they make you replace the whole cart.

      You don't need to pay into their razor-and-blades business model. It's trivial to refill the carts yourself, provided you have a handy source of blood, guts, and bone.

      The only catch is if you plan on using the printouts for your own use... you can't use just any random hobo as a source of material, you need a match in blood type, antigens, etc. I suggest harvesting your identical twin (the good one).

      If you're not the evil member of an identical twin pairing, then you may be SOL. You should try close relatives (other siblings, parents) before adopting a wide-net strategy of abducting hobos in order to refill your printer cartridges.

      The more you know...

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    2. Re:They get you with the cartridges by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      And the cartridges cost an arm and a leg.

  8. Great - now my inbox will fill up with... by mswhippingboy · · Score: 1, Funny

    spam selling me down-loadable "male enhancements" for your 3d printer.... Thanks for giving them the idea...

    --
    Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an oncoming train.
    1. Re:Great - now my inbox will fill up with... by d1r3lnd · · Score: 3, Funny

      Get the email-enabled model, and your inbox will fill up with actual SPAM.

      Mmmmm.

    2. Re:Great - now my inbox will fill up with... by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 3, Funny

      The day I get 25 3D-printed, fleshy, unattached penises rolling on my desk when I open my mailbox will be the day I quit all modern technology and vanish into the woods.

      --
      Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
    3. Re:Great - now my inbox will fill up with... by jameskojiro · · Score: 1

      Are you going to be taking your 3-D SPAM faxes into the woods too?

      --
      Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
    4. Re:Great - now my inbox will fill up with... by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 1

      Might come in useful as bait if I go the full survival route - however, I'd rather cleanse the place with fire before I leave. Without the... spam...

      --
      Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
  9. Fingerprints by drunken_boxer777 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Excellent! Now I can print my epidermal cells in the pattern of a new set of fingerprints, transplant that skin to my fingers, and leave traces of CmdrTaco at crime scenes across the world!

    1. Re:Fingerprints by geegel · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually this is what I was thinking too, but in more serious terms. Entire organs are most likely decades away from happening (at least with this type of technology). Most likely the first users will want this technology for reasons similar to what you described. Someone in Mossad or MI5 is probably dancing with joy about now.

      --
      right...
    2. Re:Fingerprints by ls671 · · Score: 1

      > Someone in Mossad or MI5 is probably dancing with joy about now.

      Well, if it's documented, wouldn't it be ammo for the defense of somebody suspected ?

      Mossad or MI5 prefer undocumented tools...

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    3. Re:Fingerprints by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why bother with the transplant? Just press the printed skin against a few things. As long as it has the same oils as normal skin, you'll get good fingerprints. If it's the right temperature, it should fool most biometric sensors too (and a lot of existing ones even without that).

      And then can we shoot whoever thought it was a good idea to use something that you leave on everything that you touch as a replacement for a password?

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    4. Re:Fingerprints by geegel · · Score: 1

      It doesn't require such a great leap of imagination. If this is what documented technology can do, imagine what the military grade, secret developments are capable of. Just saying.

      --
      right...
    5. Re:Fingerprints by AndersOSU · · Score: 2, Insightful

      fake fingerprints - can't you do that with a rubber cement mold?

      That's why our criminal justice system's standard is "beyond a reasonable doubt." You can claim that Moussad framed you or that aliens did ittoday. You'd just have to convince a jury of your peers that such a situation is reasonable

      (you're better off impugning the lab that did the fingerprint match.)

    6. Re:Fingerprints by Dalambertian · · Score: 2, Informative

      So organ printing is decades away, huh. Man, you're living in the past: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/13751901.html

    7. Re:Fingerprints by commodoresloat · · Score: 1

      > Someone in Mossad or MI5 is probably dancing with joy about now.

      Well, if it's documented, wouldn't it be ammo for the defense of somebody suspected ?

      Intelligence agents know better than to document their joy-dances.

    8. Re:Fingerprints by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's entirely possible that fingerprint "transplants" of the sort this thread is describing will have only temporary relevance. Moderately soon, simply copying and applying the shape of a fingerprint may be irrelevant if such methods fail to reproduce an adequately convincing sample of someone's personal microbial residue to suit the situation. While directly identifying someone by microbial traces may be some ways off, showing that a particular stain was, in fact, NOT one particular person in question may be much more achievable -- discover bacterial strains present in the fingerprint that are NOT present on the person in question, and you have separated the fingerprint from the person.

      Fingerprints will nevertheless continue to be used for some time as evidence of presence and for routine identification. Additional means ought to be applied as the importance of correct identification increases. I'd welcome a fingerprint scanner at my local library -- worst case, I'm stuck paying for some lost materials, the cost of which would most likely be less than the cost of preparing false fingerprints. I'd blanch at using fingerprint identification (sans PIN/passphrase) to open my safe deposit box -- its contents will likely be more valuable than the cost of a simulated fingerprint, once this technology has matured. Similarly, if a criminal case involves petty theft, incriminating fingerprints in the presence of motive and ordinary corroborating evidence should be adequate; however, in felony cases, stricter scrutiny ought to be applied. "Bloody fingerprints on the murder weapon" may, in some few years time, NOT be adequate evidence of connection to a case.

    9. Re:Fingerprints by krmt · · Score: 1

      That rat heart story is exciting, but it's not organ printing. I'd urge caution about the heart experiment. It's cool that they pulled it off, but some of the caveats from the Nature Medicine paper reporting it are that it doesn't beat nearly as strongly as a normal heart, nor is it beating properly in time. No actual blood flow has been pushed through the thing, so we don't know if it can perform well enough to replace even diseased tissue in a person. Finally, if you think about doing this in a person, you'd need a donor heart. There's very few of these available, and the vast majority of them are from old people who probably don't have the best hearts available. And it's not at all clear yet that we could print an effective heart scaffold de novo and have it work as well, although it's a possibility. Proof of concept is still waiting.

      So, at least in this really challenging case (replacing a blood vessel and a heart aren't even remotely on the same scale of complexity) it really does look like we're still decades away.

      --

      "I may not have morals, but I have standards."

  10. And thus the scientists... by Sumbius · · Score: 5, Funny

    had invented a printer which had provided them with a plastic cup filled with a blob of cells that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike a human vein.

    1. Re:And thus the scientists... by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

      Ewwww, this report is bleeding.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  11. Didn't I already see this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didn't I already see this technology in "The 5th Element"(tm) where there are only a few cells left of the superbeing left from the destroyed ship, and from them they basically build another superbeing?

  12. cool now I can get a 12' cock without uestioan is by axor1337 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    but they viable for transplants?

    --
    there are 10 types of people in this world, those who read binary and those who don't. which are you!
  13. Sounds good. by Eggbloke · · Score: 1

    But I bet the ink refills are really expensive.

    --
    I care not for your karma and your mod points.
    1. Re:Sounds good. by d1r3lnd · · Score: 3, Funny

      they'll cost you at least an arm and a leg...

    2. Re:Sounds good. by idontgno · · Score: 1

      I think we've covered this ground before.

      Yes, it's sort of a dupe. Same company. I suppose the breakthrough is actually demonstrating 3d printing of tissue, rather that just announcing you'll do it.

      In any event, if anyone feels the need to make any jokes about ink cost, cartridge DRM, or other wildly hilarious topics, please just use a reference to the older comments. Thanks.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
    3. Re:Sounds good. by SilasMortimer · · Score: 3, Funny

      In any event, if anyone feels the need to make any jokes about ink cost, cartridge DRM, or other wildly hilarious topics, please just use a reference to the older comments. Thanks.

      Thanks for that. I have a puppy. Want to kick it?

      --
      Omnes tuae crepidines sunt nobis sunt. Ascendo tuum!
    4. Re:Sounds good. by bubulubugoth · · Score: 1

      we seriously need a thumbs up option...

      HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA....

      --
      Â_Â
  14. In Japan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This was bound to come up sooner or later, so I'll now initiate the part of the conversation wherein we speculate about what the Japanese will do with this technology.

  15. Isn't this a dupe? by krou · · Score: 0, Redundant

    http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/12/04/1828211/Organovo-Has-Its-First-Commercial-3D-Bio-Printer

    --
    'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
  16. The Real Money by tpstigers · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is really interesting stuff. I think the big payoff will come when they get to the point where bone can be 'printed'. Considering all the money there is in professional athletics, the ability to 'print' new kneecaps for athletes would be huge.

    1. Re:The Real Money by dkleinsc · · Score: 1, Redundant

      Wouldn't the really really big payoff be when they get to the point of printing out a celebrity sexbot?

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
  17. Printer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why do we call them "printers"? How about, you know, a machine that makes X?

    Doesn't sound as futuristic, I suppose. I guess we need to make up shit so common idiots can follow along. "Oh, it's like my printer, except for other stuff!" No, it's a machine that makes them, just like machines have done in the past.

    Do car manufacturers "print" cars? No, they assemble them. Same concept.

    1. Re:Printer? by rainmayun · · Score: 1

      Describing it as a "printer" implies some detail to the technique that would be missing from your description. And no, it's not really like making a car.

    2. Re:Printer? by omnichad · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They're called printers because they build things in layers with positioned spraying or placement in 2D. Cars aren't printed now, but if they were it might make them cheaper.

  18. The real question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can I print an actual heart for Valentine's Day?

  19. Well, sure. For the masses by smchris · · Score: 2, Interesting

    But a few people will always appreciate the fine craftsmanship of an artisan heart.

    1. Re:Well, sure. For the masses by Taibhsear · · Score: 1

      But a few people will always appreciate the fine craftsmanship of an artisan heart.

      With fava beans and a nice chianti.

  20. a new argument in the office. . . by rev_sanchez · · Score: 1

    I don't care if my print job caused it. I am not cleaning that disgusting vein jam out of the printer!

    --
    If you didn't come to party don't bother knocking on my door. Prince '1999'
    1. Re:a new argument in the office. . . by CompMD · · Score: 2, Funny

      Blood Type AB Load Letter, what the fsck does that mean?

  21. Stinks of sales bullshit by oldhack · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    No, I don't RTFA cuz of the bullshit stench. Hope they get sued for misrepresentation.

    --
    Fuck systemd. Fuck Redhat. Fuck Soylent, too. Wait, scratch the last one.
  22. I, for one, appreciate the irony... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

    Normally, you'd only be interested in printing naked pictures of chicks' body parts. Now, there's no need. You can print out chicks' body parts directly. No muss, no fuss, just mom's basement...
    But imagine what the chicks would print out?

  23. A high school kid did this 5 years ago... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Look for Gaglani on this page. He did it back in 2005.

    http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-05-17-hs-allstars-first-team_x.htm

  24. Replicators! by kiehlster · · Score: 1

    This is good news for fans of Star Trek food replicators. Print me out a nice filet mignon, medium well.

  25. At UWMC we've been making parts for years by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, we have been doing scaffolding work on various body parts for years, including livers and other organs.

    The hard one is the heart - the cardiovascular veins are easier to replace one by one though.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    1. Re:At UWMC we've been making parts for years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'd heard the scaffolding was going pretty well; taking pig organs, stripping away the cells with some kind of solvent, leaving the collagen-based scaffolding, then 'doping' the scaffold with the patient's cells to produce a perfect 'match' organ - with the success the doctors had with the South American woman a while ago (and more recently with a 10 yr old boy - http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_56929.asp) I'd hoped this kind of rejection-free organ replacement was *very* close to being more generally available.

    2. Re:At UWMC we've been making parts for years by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 2, Interesting

      One of the useful results of the insane rejection of stem cell research was the exception for researchers to use their own cells, which is where we got some of this from.

      We've also found that moms carry the pluripotent stem cells of all their children, including stillbirths and abortions inside them, which has both positive (increased immunity) and negative (resistance factors) impacts.

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    3. Re:At UWMC we've been making parts for years by SgtXaos · · Score: 1

      I hope you guys get serious about making some lungs. I need a new pair thanks to some chemo/rad therapy I received. Thanks!

      --
      -- Don't call me "Sir," I increase entropy for a living!
  26. It's Called Tissue Engineering by LuxuryYacht · · Score: 2, Informative

    It's typically referred as Tissue Engineering and it's been around for a while. Systems have been available for research purposes for a few years O.N.E. Technologies Material Deposition Systems

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur
  27. Right in the middle of printing a new organ... by jmcwork · · Score: 1

    PC Load Letter!

    1. Re:Right in the middle of printing a new organ... by Linker3000 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Right in the middle of printing a new eyeball:

      PC LOAD LUTEIN

      --
      AT&ROFLMAO
  28. Re:Fingerprints? Larger Penis! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd personally go for the larger penis option.

  29. blah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didn't we see an article almost exactly like this one a couple weeks ago?

  30. But can it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

    ...print out Summer Glau?

  31. Re:A little more respect is in order by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Perhaps you should rethink your level of politeness if you ever get a chance to ask a "kung fu MJ" to blow you. Try something a little more cajoling, and little less "likely to get your little one-eyed weasel ripped off."

  32. I can see the lab tech now.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    PC Load Letter? What the fuck is PC Load Letter?

  33. a smart one? by commodoresloat · · Score: 1

    After the fiorst time, it should know how the hell I want my tea.

    If it was truly smart it would bring me vodka.

  34. One step closer by Xamusk · · Score: 1

    to having our own bacta tanks!

  35. Is this a dup? by argent · · Score: 1

    I'm pretty sure I saw this in /. recently.

  36. Finally by RivenAleem · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now I can send thinly veined insults across the nets

  37. How soon before Print Bigger Penis Spam? by obscuro · · Score: 1

    This just begs for it.

    --
    Every rule has more than one consequence.