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Inside the Weird World of 3D Printed Body Parts
An anonymous reader writes Last November a news report in Russia Today sent a shudder of excitement through the tech blogs that cover 3D printing: an eccentric Russian provocateur claimed he would this month start printing functioning thyroids. Tech reporter Andrew Leonard set out to fact-check that claim, and along the way discovered an unlikely relationship between a Russian mad scientist and the U.S.'s most advanced, most respected 3d bioprinting companies—TeVido, which aims to 3D print custom nipples, and Organovo, which sells samples of 3D printed liver tissue. In the field of 3D printing, the line between science fiction and peer-reviewed research is very, very thin.
Inside the Weird Wobbly World of 3D Printed Body Parts
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
"3d printing" is the latest fad for Slashdotters to obsess over; meanwhile, in the real world, people are just going to use more established solutions. For example, where I work we're making great progress towards CNC-milling a pancreas.
You know when it's okay to shout fire in a crowded theatre? When it's on fire.
The biggest obstacle to working organs seems to be the inclusion of vasculature to the tissues for sustenance, but that is being worked out.
This seems promising. Financing is an initial hurdle since it's a medical procedure requiring lengthy testing and approval. Investors aren't flocking in for an expected payout of years or decades.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Hmmm ... apparently I am unversed in the realm of custom nipples, as I've never conceived of it before. Is this a thing I've been missing?
So, I guess we can have an informal Slashdot poll ... if you were going to have custom nipples it would look like:
1) Smiley faces
2) Tux
3) The Windows Logo
4) Monkeys
5) USB ports
6) Cowboy Neal
7) Cupcakes
8) Hearts
9) AC/DC's logo
10) Yoda
I for one welcome our new, custom-nipple overlords.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Russia Today is quite openly the a foreign propaganda arm of the Russian Govt. that doesn't even pretend to be independent. It's not a complete 100% laughingstock (or nobody would watch it), but I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock in reports of astounding breakthroughs without a little more evidence (like a clinical trial, for instance).
Which carries over to the idea of a 3D printed Penis with more girth and length. That should sell.
You know for women who suffer from breast cancer.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Killjoy. People like you suck the fun out of everything.
Hmmm ... apparently I am unversed in the realm of custom nipples, as I've never conceived of it before. Is this a thing I've been missing?
Why don't you find a breast cancer survivor who has had a mastectomy and ask her about the subject?
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
progress towards CNC-milling a pancreas.
That's interesting. Where I work we're making progress on human transplants of a web-scale ficas using nothing but red staplers crowd funded via a new meta-material crypto currency based on a Bitcoin NoSQL kernel which solves the pressing problem of laser mounted sharks doxing bio-hackers via Twitter's NSA paper trail.
Ohh, so close. You were "SSL exploit" away from Bingo.
Same as when my girlfriend plays with my funny bone.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
And for women whose boob jobs failed.
Or just to go with your new boob job, get new nipples! Because the old ones probably will lose their sensation anyway.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Why stop with one?
Which carries over to the idea of a 3D printed Penis with more girth and length. That should sell.
They already exist, and they're called dildoes. Most men aren't wild about amputating the original and replacing it with a lump of pink plastic though.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
And did you see me saying that either of those were excellent sources of science news?
No, you didn't.
Are you suggesting he track down a cancer survivor and ask her to show him her tits? I must say it's not a tactic I've heard working before.
progress towards CNC-milling a pancreas.
That's interesting. Where I work we're making progress on human transplants of a web-scale ficas using nothing but red staplers crowd funded via a new meta-material crypto currency based on a Bitcoin NoSQL kernel which solves the pressing problem of laser mounted sharks doxing bio-hackers via Twitter's NSA paper trail.
What has /. come to? Where are the Natalie Portman/Soviet Russia/Beowulf memes???
Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
With the rapidly increasing volume of 3D printers, all that's needed is for somebody to come up with an extruder and latex filament. Which sounds dirty but I didn't mean it that way.
Actually, replacement nipples could be a huge step forward for women who are facing a mastectomy. Their choices are 1) mastectomy and reconstruction with no nipple, 2) mastectomy and reconstruction with a tattoo where the nipple was, or 3) a "nipple-sparing" mastectomy, which is a much more difficult procedure, carries risks because some tissue gets left behind, isn't always appropriate/possible for women with small breasts, and sometimes fails.
I was dating somebody a few years ago who was diagnosed with breast cancer, and went to most of her surgical consults. (She's fine now; thanks for asking...) Preserving the nipple was a big deal for her, even though there was a good chance that she'd never get sensation back. she went with the nipple sparing option, despite the potential downsides, and was happy with the outcome. (Her summary: "It doesn't look perfect, but it doesn't look deformed, either")
I suspect that if 3D printing of a new nipple was possible for her - and mitigated some of the risks, she might have gone with that.
Somewhere there will be a twisted church with rabid dog doctrines that insists that GAWD assigns breast disease to females and that the ravages of surgical treatments for breast cancer must be displayed permanently and that repair of a female breast violates GAWDS will. There is nothing more idiotic than a morality freak trying to establish the right and wrong of things for others.
How 'bout a church where they furiously attack off-topioc self-constructed imaginary strawmen?
Oh, wait, we have Slashdot. Carry on.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
You know, you are 100% correct, and that literally didn't occur to me.
I was thinking purely voluntary nipple upgrades, and was baffled.
Don't forget, it's easy to forget stuff like this .. most of us take nipples for granted, and don't focus on their existence very much.
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
If you know a breast cancer survivor personally, they are generally pretty open about those sort of questions.
I had one friend complain about how her plastic surgeon kept on getting the placement of the nipple on the wrong spot. She eventually went to the OR with a smiley face where she wanted the nipple placed.
A second friend said her plastic surgeon kept on pushing for nipple preservation but she was quite content (wouldn't say happy) without one. She did feel less of a woman for a while afterwards, but started feeling better once she started gaining weight back and getting her sex drive back.
Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
As the Tin Man sang: "If I only had a brain...!" - I can't wait 'till they print me a new hippocampus so that I can confidently store long-term memories again!
*** Don't be dull.***
FTW!
Have gnu, will travel.
Your physique may vary, but somewhere around six or seven simultaneous bodies the diminishing returns will outpace the gains of adding more females to my equation. Most of us can probably raise that intersecting point with a controlled diet and exercise regime. The frail or elderly may have to settle for "two girls at the same time."
"In Soviet Russia, 3D printers print you!"
Turns out that's the headline, not the punchline.
John
The obvious answer is three... if you are a bowler.
It would certainly give a whole new meaning to "The Big Lebowski".
Hmmm ... apparently I am unversed in the realm of custom nipples, as I've never conceived of it before. Is this a thing I've been missing?
Why don't you find a breast cancer survivor who has had a mastectomy and ask her about the subject?
At the same time, you may want to ask why they would be willing to go to a company that can't even spell correctly, to get body parts, given that they've demonstrated poor quality control already.
From the front page of the TeVido web site:
"Our first product is targeted to improve nipple reconstruction and later fill lumpectomies and other fat grating needs."
I suppose that this is supposed to be "fat grafting", unless they plan on pulling a full-on "Dr. Lector", or they are 3D printing parmesan cheese.