Human Ear Created in Lab Using 3D Printing
- 11 years ago
A human ear is created in a lab by using 3D printing methods.
Scientists have created a human ear using a three dimensional printer.
They made the ear using living cow ear cells and collagen that were injected into an ear shaped mold.
The scientists then grew the ear shaped mold on the back of a rat for one to three months.
Ear replacements are used for patients who have lost their ears to cancer or an accident, or were born with deformed ears.
The experimental 3D printed ears have yet to be tested on humans, but if they are successful, human implants could be possible in about three years.
This project is not the first time that scientists have grown a human ear on a mouse.
In 1997, scientists implanted cow cells and a biodegradable mesh in the shape of a toddler’s ear onto the back of a hairless mouse.
In 1999, an anti-genetics group put a full page picture of the mouse as an ad in the New York Times claiming that the mouse was genetically engineered, but in fact no human cells were used and the mouse was not genetically modified at all.
What do you think? Should 3D printing be used for creating human body parts?
Scientists have created a human ear using a three dimensional printer.
They made the ear using living cow ear cells and collagen that were injected into an ear shaped mold.
The scientists then grew the ear shaped mold on the back of a rat for one to three months.
Ear replacements are used for patients who have lost their ears to cancer or an accident, or were born with deformed ears.
The experimental 3D printed ears have yet to be tested on humans, but if they are successful, human implants could be possible in about three years.
This project is not the first time that scientists have grown a human ear on a mouse.
In 1997, scientists implanted cow cells and a biodegradable mesh in the shape of a toddler’s ear onto the back of a hairless mouse.
In 1999, an anti-genetics group put a full page picture of the mouse as an ad in the New York Times claiming that the mouse was genetically engineered, but in fact no human cells were used and the mouse was not genetically modified at all.
What do you think? Should 3D printing be used for creating human body parts?