New research is a major milestone on the way to synthesizing replacement organ tissue for humans.
A common trope in science fiction, especially cyberpunk fiction, involves custom-grown replacement organs based on the recipient’s own flesh. We’re not there yet as a species—and in fact still a good ways off—but we just made a huge step in that direction. Scientists at Stanford University have managed to use advanced « bioprinting » techniques to print a small piece of bio-engineered human heart tissue.To be completely clear, this is real human heart tissue constructed from living stem cells. The amount of tissue that the lab created is too small to be used for anything practical yet, but these methods could result in replacement heart valves or other critical internal organs once scaled up.Above and top: Andrew Brodhead / Stanford University
We can use transplants from humans or even other animals, though, right? What’s the point of this? While it’s true that transplants are done every day, those components can be rejected by the body as much as 20 or even 30 years later.
