eli5: What does 3D print human body parts mean? How can a 3d printer do that?
In: Technology
A 3D printer deposits tiny bits of material in an interesting pattern. If the material were human cells, the printer could arrange them into an organ.
This is all highly theoretical, but experiments are ongoing. Cells are small, but we have other machines that manipulate them. Cells take some work to make stick to each other, it’s a lot more complex than the molten plastic used to 3D print a toy, but that might be possible since we use glues to seal surgical cuts.
Of course it would have to be sterile and genetically matched, so there will be many years before any of this sort of thing is approved for important organs.
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