Running head: A New Life

For Many

A New Life For Many

Travish Hicks
ENG 1313-07, Writing in a Digital world
23 February 2016

A New Life For Many

Running head: A New Life

For Many

For many years scientist have wonder if we can make cures and treat aggressive cancer
and give life then why not try to help the ones that are born with differences or had to get body
parts amputated for example cleft lip or a had or a ear. 2016 a remarkable year for mankind. A
new method of 3D printing can produce human-sized bone, muscle, and cartilage templates that
survive when implanted into animals, researchers report. The bio-ink building blocks are then
dispensed from a bioprinter, using a layer-by-layer approach that is scaled for the target output.
Bio-inert hydrogel components may be utilized as supports, as tissues are built up vertically to
achieve three-dimensionality, or as fillers to create channels or void spaces within tissues to
mimic features of native tissue.
The bioprinting process can be tailored to produce tissues in a variety of formats, from
micro-scale tissues contained in standard multi-well tissue culture plates, to larger structures
suitable for placement onto bioreactors for biomechanical conditioning prior to use.

It was not an easy process but Dr. Anthony Atala from Wake Forest School of Medicine,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina and his team developed a process they call the integrated tissue
and organ printing system, or ITOP for short. ITOP produces a network of tiny channels that
allows the printed tissue to be nourished after being implanted into a living animal. With this
next level investigation going on with a few more years who knows what we will be able to
print. Results with 3D-printed skeletal muscle were equally impressive. Not only did the
implants look like normal muscle when examined two weeks after implantation, but the implants
also contracted like immature, developing muscle when stimulated. According to Atala (2016),

Running head: A New Life

For Many

It has been challenging to produce human scale tissues with 3D printing because larger tissues
require additional nutrition". (

References

Running head: A New Life

For Many

Boggs, W. (2016, February 16). 3D bioprintyer produces bones, muscle and cartilage. Reuters.
Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-biotech-3d-printers-idUSKCN0VO28X