Wednesday, July 4, 2012

3D PRINTING: THE LATEST REVOLUTION IN BIOLOGY




3D printing is a method of  manufacturing  things like models of humans, animals, proteins, commonly used tools, jewelry parts of automobiles, machines and aeroplanes etc. using a computer-controlled printer. Printer means not the ink based printers we use daily. These printers  spit  materials like metals, plastic, plaster, polymer, resin etc. Scientifically manufacturing things in 3D printing is called an additive manufacturing technology compared to the normal manufacturing technologies which are called subtractive technologies.   3D objects are generally built out of layers.
A 3D printer starts with the bottom layer, waits for it to dry or solidify, and then works its way up. This layering process differs depending on the printer and the material it works with.  3D printing has found its applications in biology. For example the skull of a baby Homo nenderthalensis was made by plastic spitting 3D printer at the University of Zurich, Switzerland [See Figure].

A tissue-engineering group has succeeded in creating functional blood vessels and cardiac tissue, using a 'printer' that dispenses cells instead of ink  Here the 3D printer uses the sugar to create a set of guiding pipes that will direct the fluid. These pipes were then coated with  a corn-based polymer to stabilize the sugar. Cells were deposited  a batch of cells onto this which grow and form a network of cells and dissolve the sugar walls [See Video]

3D PRINTING OF KIDNEYS



  READ NATURE ARTICLE ON 3D PRINTING
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