3D Printed Organs Could Become a Thing

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

Using genetic glue to build vital organs

It's probably far fetched to think that we're on the verge of being able to print off replacement hearts, kidneys, and other vital body parts, but perhaps your children or grandchildren will one day benefit from such a sci-fi scenario. The technology is closer than you may think -- researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have shown that strands of DNA can act as glue to hold together 3D printed materials.
It's a significant development because those 3D printed materials could someday be used to grow tissues and organs in the lab, the researchers say. Bear in mind that researchers have already used nucleic acids such as DNA to assemble objects, though most of them are nano-sized.
The challenge comes in making them bigger. After all, a heart that's too small to be seen with a human eye doesn't do a patient needing a heart transplant any good. But a heart the size of a heart does. The problem is that visible objects are cost prohibitive to produce.
This is where 3D printing comes in. The researchers came up with DNA-coated nanoparticles made of either polystyrene or polyacrylamide, both of which are comparatively inexpensive. Binding them together with DNA forms gel-like materials (as seen in the thumbnail picture) that could be extruded from a 3D printer. What's more, researchers showed that human cells could grow in the gels.
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