Where Will 2D Printers Take the Society of Regenerating Limbs

In this study, the Morgridge Institute of Research’s regenerative biology team asked when a limb is getting regenerated, what genes play a role in that process and is there a recipe that can be replicated in a different species. To observe that question, researchers observed 17 different developmental stages of axolotl embryos and found that as the axolotl grows, it goes through 3 unusual changes in gene expression that level out over time. The changes occur when the genome is first activated, during the formation of the gut and during the formation of the nervous system. With these results the scientist were given the opportunity to compare that with existing information on the axolotl limb regeneration. Also during this experiment, some pieces of the axolotl’s transcriptome or messenger RNA molecules were able to be put together so that the scientist could compare them to the transcriptomes of humans and frogs in hopes of finding common

One question that is commonly asked is “Why can’t humans regrow their limbs like a lizard?” the answer to that question is no not naturally. That is because lizards have specialized cells that can change from one type of body cell to another. For example when rebuilding the tail the lizard will need a muscle cell. Soon after that a skin cell will “reprogram” to become a muscle call for the new tail. That is why humans cannot regrow limbs naturally. There is still hope that one day human will have a treatment that will allow us to regrow limbs. Scientists at Rikens Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe Japan conducted an experiment where they took stem cells put them into a human brain and “rewired” them to form a fully functioning

Secondly, advanced 3D printing applied to the medical field can be utilized in an Engels non capitalist technology drive society to impact the area of safety. In this utopian society, advanced 3D printing will have the capabilities to print synthetic tissue and organic tissue that can bond to the patient’s cells. In effect, this helps the patient’s wound heal faster. This type of advanced 3D bio printing can save many lives

In a study conducted through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on “average 79 people will receive an organ each day; however, an average of 22 people die each day” waiting for transplants that cannot take place because of the shortage of donated organs (U.S. D.H.H.S). The average amount of patients waiting for an organ can reduce to zero with the continued development of 3-D printers. 3-D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The digital file is uploaded onto a computer software, and then the 3-D printer prints the digital file out onto different materials. The materials include plastic, resin, nylon, sandstone. The finish products become replicas of the digital file, and what was an idea is now a reality. Therefore, 3-D printers will one day be the future of organ transplants because over the past twenty years the technology industry has rapidly grown into the focal point in society. From advancement in communication, to the medical field, science and technology has shaped this world today. Thus, the American Government should invest more money into the medical field budget because the research conducted on new technology (3-D Printers) leads to more lives saved, and expands the opportunity of future medical breakthroughs.

As 3D printing transitions from commercial manufacturing use to personal private use individuals will have the ability to print any design. Products can range from a pair of shoes to complicated engineering designs, life-saving devices, prosthetic limbs and weapons that pass airport security. In the future we will likely see printable medications and

Medical practitioners use 3D printers in the production of medical printers. Such 3D printing successes involves the creation of plastic limb prosthetics and the replacement of hips and bones. A Recent study reports that 3D printing shows the shift of the medical manufacturing sector due to the low cost and small sized printers that promises to enhance technology accessibility thus allowing researchers and doctors to create personalized devices for their patients. For example a patient who has developed an infection of experienced pain from non-customized prosthetic can use imaging technology that shows the shape and movements of various parts of the human body.

A. Reason to Listen: 3D printing has advanced to the point of creating new organs, therefore saving lives.

In the article “The next frontier in 3-D printing: Human organs” written by Brandon Griggs, published by CNN on April 5, 2014, Griggs explains how the new technology in 3-D printing is progressing from printing “toys to jewelry to food” and now, still developing, human organs. Although it seems positive to patients who are waiting and in need of organs, there are still some heated discussions as to the responsibility of producing and guaranteeing quality the artificial organs. Another

A. Reason to Listen: 3D printing has advanced to the point of creating new organs, therefore saving lives.

Around the globe, organ transplant waiting lists are overflowing with people who will never be able to receive the organs they need to survive. War veterans, accident victims, and those who have succumb to the loss of a limb from some other means endure a profoundly impaired quality of life. At the same time, several animal species are able to inconsequentially endure similar situations because of their remarkable inherent ability to fully regenerate many parts of their body. This ability to regenerate damaged or completely lost tissues and organs is greatly coveted by our species and has been the subject of scientific scrutiny for more than a century. Although the mechanisms responsible for this capability are being discovered and mapped at increasingly accelerated rates, much work is left to be done towards solidifying a thorough understanding of regeneration, let alone applying this knowledge to regenerative medicine.

The field of bioprinting, using 3D printing technology for producing live cells with extreme accuracy, could be the answer to many of the problems we as humans face in the medical field. It could be the end to organ waiting lists and an alternative for organ transplants. In 3D printing technology lies the potential to replace the testing of new drugs on animals. However, the idea of applying 3 dimensional printing to the health industry is still quite new and yet to have a major impact. Manufacturing working 3D organs remains an enormous challenge, but in theory could solve major issues present today.

Significant progress has been made in identifying the molecular players that help in formation of the regenerating limb, as well as how they operate. Researchers have identified a particular player which controls proximal and distal properties. They did so by experimenting with retinoic acid (RA), which has control over cells. RA signaling, however, can only be done experimentally because blastema cells originating from cartilage follow the aforementioned distal transformation rule during normal limb regeneration. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, researchers have examined a number transcription factors that have been determined to be used in both embryonic development and limb regeneration, discovering a number of new ones. One of them, the MEIS family, is critical for upper limb development. Besides transcription factors, gradients also play a critical role in regeneration. The recently discovered newt anterior gradient (NAG) is a factor that encourages blastema cell growth and may also affect patterning of the Px/Ds axes. All of these are unique components in regeneration and would be interesting models for future

There are over 11.4 million amputees worldwide in need of prosthetic limbs. Traditional methods of producing prosthetics limit availability due to cost and durability. While the technology is still very new and not well developed, 3D-printing is the future of prosthetic limbs. 3D-printed prosthetic limbs may be printed with different materials, and provide quick production with a lower cost, which can increase the availability of prosthetic limbs to more amputees.

At the time of amputation a new “growth zone” emerges at the site of amputation. This is the blastema also known as a grouping of mesenchymal cells that are surrounded by epidermal tissues.. Though the origin is unknown, the potential these cells have to regenerate an entire functioning adult limb, is what is remarkable. This structure forms as the body’s response to a limb being amputated and has its own special morphology that in some ways does resemble the developing limb buds of other

With the very limited supply of organs, 3D printing creates functioning organs without a donation from a living organism. The definition of 3D printing from Charles W. Hull, the inventor of 3D systems, states that “...thin layers of a material that can be cured with ultraviolet light were sequentially printed in layers to form a solid 3D structure” (Murphy & Atala 773). The sheer narrow sheets play a vital role in bioprinting. They allow the printers to develop functional, layering individual cells, proteins, and an extracellular matrix. The three basic types of 3D printing include biomimicry, independent self- assembly, and miniature tissue blocks. The creation of the 3D structure creates all the difference between these types of printing. Three dimensional structure approaches include, creating exact duplicates of the cells and tissues with extensive knowledge, using a developing embryo as a template or using microscopic tissues to assemble into a larger developed tissue (Kalaskar). In other words, all these paths to bioprinting end up with a 3D structure but require different knowledge and materials. They all contain their own sets of challenges.