Future Vision
In one of our classes at the beginning of the semester, someone mentioned the possibility of being able to 3D print a human being. I thought I had misunderstood what was being said, because to me this idea seemed absurd and unrealistic at the time. Only a week or two later, I read an article on the BBC which talked about a recent accomplishment by a group of researchers who were able to grow a real ear in the lab. I was completely amazed at the fact that we are now capable of printing real living tissues and organs. I think every one can recognize the opportunities that come with 3D bio printing are endless.
Some of the articles that I’ve read discuss the innovations that have already been produced by this new technology. There is the bio-printed ear, which can be used to help people with hearing disability. Not only are we now able to print organs, but we can also imbed technology in these tissues, so that they can function in ways that a normal human organ functions. For the 3D printed ear we can imbed a type of hearing aid or sensor. (We can also work on creating hearing aid technology that gives us the ability to have super hearing, or even eyes that give us the sight of an eagle or a hawk) They have even created heart cells in a petri dish that beat! There are so many people waiting for organ donations around the world, if we can create these organs we will be able to save many lives. Scientists have already printed a liver, a kidney, and healed burn victims by creating new skin sells on their injuries. In addition to creating new organs we can work on creating organic prosthetics for people who have missing limbs.
All of this sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, so why should we be afraid of imagining even more far fetched ideas such as 3d printed human clones (ok maybe this sounds a bit unethical, but the point is there are so many things we should consider!) One of the articles I have linked here also talks about how cloning alien species is possible in the future. It talks about how in the near future we will be able to print synthetic DNA. With Synthetic DNA we can bring back extinct species as long as we have a complete strand of DNA. Think about that for a second. Game changer=dinosaurs and aliens.
Sources:
http://www.kpho.com/story/23485538/3d-printer-provides-hand-for-2-year-old-girl
http://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/6443/3D-Printing-Martian-DNA.aspx
http://news.discovery.com/tech/biotechnology/3-d-printer-makes-bionic-ear-130502.htm
http://blog.123dapp.com/2013/10/3d-printing-and-medicine
http://asme.scripts.mit.edu/home/asme-blog/3d-printing-in-biotechnology/