Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Human Vein Bioprinted In 3D
For the first time, a human vein was successfully printed by an Organovo NovoGen bioprinter.
Here's a short description of the process from an NPR interview done by host Guy Raz with Dr. Gabor Forgacs, a scientist at the University of Missouri:
RAZ: So if you want a new heart, some cardiac cells, if you want a new stomach, some stomach cells, and so on. And he takes this cluster of cells.
Dr. FORGACS: That may contain anything between 10 to 30,000 cells.
RAZ: And he mixes it into a liquid, something Gabor Forgacs calls bio-ink, and just like in the printer connected to your computer, this bio-ink shoots out of a cartridge. And it's printed, dot by dot, onto a gelatin-like sheet of paper, or what he calls bio-paper.
Dr. FORGACS: It is a material that mimics what we have in our body between the organs, that surrounds the organs. It's called the extracellular matrix. Cells love it.
RAZ: And when placed together on the bio-paper, the bio-ink, those cell clusters, starts to fuse and form shapes, but at this point, the printout is still two-dimensional. So another sheet of bio-paper is layered right on top with another cluster of bio-ink.
The principle is a little like building a skyscraper. You start with the bottom level, then build up.
Dr. FORGACS: Then imagine that comes the second story, and then comes the third story.
RAZ: And on and on until you have something that starts to look like an organ. Forgacs' printer is connected to a computer that then directs how those layers should be shaped, a predesigned scheme a little like paint-by-numbers.
Dr. FORGACS: And that scheme you can get by taking an X-ray or a CT image of the organ, and you try to repeat the outline of the organ. Of course, it's very complicated, but we have now the precision to place the cells according to this scheme and end up with a three-dimensional object.
Larry Niven wrote about artificially grown organs in the 1960's. You might need to use one of Philip K. Dick's Biltong life forms to actually print one. Take a look at this Organovo organ printing video.
From Inhabitat and NPR where you can listen to the interview excerpted above. Thanks also to Frolix_8. 
(3D printer makes a vein)
Dr. GABOR FORGACS (Scientist, University of Missouri): You scoop out cells from the patient.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/22/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Octopus Suckers Inspire Transdermal Patches
'...a capsule which he placed against his wrist.' - Philip K. Dick, 1960.
'Droplet' Battery Microscale Power Pack
'...a power pack the size of a pea.' - Alfred Bester, 1956.
Who Needs Asimov's 'Proteus' When You Can Have Pangolins?
'The Proteus was still falling, still shrinking...' - Isaac Asimov, 1966.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'
Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'
Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'
Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'
'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'
NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?
Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'
Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'
San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...'
Should Your Car Decide If You Can Drive?
'Okay. Maybe the car was right...'
Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...'
Honda UNI-ONE Hands-Free Wheelchair Follows 100 Year-Old Design
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'
EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer
'McKie held a chalf-memory stick over the dusted surface.'
Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
