nanowerk.com
http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/biotech/newsid=30342.php
Summary: Scientists from the University of Wollongong say that they are three years away from printing, in 3D, real human body parts such as muscle, nerve and cartilage, and a decade away from printing custom made organs for patients. ACES Director Professor Gordon Wallace, who is in charge of the project, said, “Within a few years, we believe it will be possible to manufacture living tissues like skin, cartilage, arteries and heart valves using cells and biomaterials. Using a patient’s own cells to create this tissue avoids issues of immune rejection. By 2025, it is feasible that we will be able to fabricate complete functional organs, tailored for an individual patient.” This means that if you need a new heart, for example, they can take tissue samples from you and use your own DNA to create a unique heart from a 3D printer, which work by adding layer on layer of material until the heart is completed. This revolutionary technology holds great promise for the future of medicine, especially since the body will not reject the new organ, since it is made from it's own DNA.
Connections: This article connects to the human body because it has to do with the body systems. It also shows a way to fix homeostatic imbalance in the body because of a malfunctioning organ that is pretty close and viable.
