[wordup] printing organs with deskjets?

[Adam Shand]

Via: Brett Shand <brett at earthlight.co.nz>
From: <nettime-l at bbs.thing.net>

>Imagine the design possibilities!
>
>Living Tissue to Be Hot Off the Printer
>
>(2003-01-22)
>
>LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists are turning to desktop printers in an effort
>to produce three dimensional tubes of living tissue and possibly even entire
>organs.
>
>Instead of using a degradable scaffold and covering it with cells to produce
>tissue, scientists in the United States are modifying ink jet printers and
>using cells to create 3D structures.
>
>"The work is a first step toward printing complex tissues or even entire
>organs," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.
>
>Although producing organs is a very long way away, many laboratories are
>printing arrays of DNA, proteins and even cells.
>
>Vladimir Mironov, of the Medical University of South Carolina, and Thomas
>Boland, of Clemson University in the same state, have used a non-toxic,
>biodegradable gel and animal cells to make the structures.
>
>"By printing alternate layers of the gel and clumps of cells on to glass
>slides, they have shown 3D structures such as tubes can be built," according
>to the magazine.
>
>If the layers are thin enough the cells fuse when they come in contact with
>each other and bits of tissue are formed. When the structure is finished the
>gel can be removed.
>
>"Like printing with different colors, placing different types of cells in
>the ink cartridges should make it possible to recreate complex structures
>consisting of multiple cells," the magazine explained.
>
>But before scientists can produce organs they will have to solve the problem
>of creating circulatory networks to provide oxygen and nutrients to the
>cells in the structures.
>
>But the scientists hope it will be possible.
>
>"This could have the same kind of impact that Gutenberg's press did," said
>Mironov.
>
>
>
>© Copyright 2003, Reuters
>
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