PRINTED ORGANS?

source: http://www.cgtrader.com

"With time there's no reason why you can't print multiple different cell types in the same way that you print multiple different colours of ink. Building up 3D structures is the next step."

Printing cells sounds crazy, but there is a whole new door that has been opened due to technological advances. This new door is call Biofabrication/Bioprinting  Research.

BBC news article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25405542

The Idea of Bioprinting can be traced back to the start of 3D printing in 1984. A man called Charles Hull  invented stereolithography, a printing process that allows a  3D object to be created from digital data. 
This video shows a 3D printer in action (feel free to skip some bits)


However it wasn't till 2002 when a working kidney was printed. This Kidney ,although miniature, was able to filter the blood and produce urine in an animal. This development opened a whole new world of printing organs! After 2002 the next significant break was in 2008 when the first man was given a 3D printed prosthetic leg which was fully developed,(socket and foot etc..). However the most poignant moment was in 2011 a man called Anthony atala printed a HUMAN KIDNEY live infront of an audience


He simply said that "[Our lab uses] a desktop inkjet printer, but instead of using ink, we're using cells"

Imagine the  complexity of a single human kidney, it has hundreds of nephrons within it's structure but still this new technology is able to replicate something that has never been replicated before! And now in 2013 eye cells have been printed that could possible cure blindness. There is a whole new side of technology that will allow us to save lives and create cures for diseases. Mind Blowing right? 
As always, Seemal