Researchers Build 3D Printer That Makes Tissue-Like Material

carmendrahl writes "3-D printers don't build only solid objects anymore. They also build liquid objects, thanks to a research team at the University of Oxford. The group custom crafted a 3-D printer to squirt tiny liquid droplets from its nozzles. The 3-D patterned droplets can mimic biological tissues, such as nerve fibers, and may have potential in tissue engineering applications. An expert not involved with the study is cautious about endorsing the tissue engineering applications because they're not yet demonstrated, but praises the team for extending 3-D printing to new classes of materials."

biological repair system

[houbou]

That will be one of the things I can see this do, to litterally repair any parts, might even be used for plastic surgery as a way to rebuilding a new face

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[CrimsonKnight13]

An application for life-like automatons (robots) would be another. The gap of the uncanny valley would close significantly.

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[wonkey_monkey]

Uh, okay. Since we're speculating on unrelated fields now, it seems (and using commercial success as the only measure of worthiness), a car that runs on horse poop and gets 1000 miles per dump would be even more commercially successful.

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[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, this will be able to produce tissues to wipe the tears from our eyes when we see the price of these 3D printers.

Cue Jlist's NSFW link

[Quakeulf]

Life-like texture ;_; [jlist.com]

Imagine this!

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Imagine building building out a structure about 2 inches in diameter and about a foot or two in length. It is made up of buckyballs, made of rubber walls. Inside of the balls are filled with a magnetized fluid, some kind of polymer that reacts to magnetic field. When an electric field is applied all these polymers curl up tight and become small in volume. when it is removed they will allow themselves to be stretched out. That would be the artificial muscle, with ability to pull in and allow itself to be stretched out.

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[Farmer Tim]

Haven't you learned anything from sci-fi? Always build any robot with a critical design flaw so there's a way of defeating them when they turn against their squishy masters.

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[rts008]

Sounds like Electric Viagra!!

Can't beat that with a stick!

I know something new it can make me

[alen]

Just a few more inches is all I need

Fifth Element

[div_2n]

I know I can't be the only one to think of this movie when I heard this.

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[JeanCroix]

"Computer, print one supreme being. And two kobe sirloins."

"Sil" also an acceptable answer

[Thud457]

So does humanity manage to destroy itself with "frog eggs" [wikipedia.org] or "lord of the flies"?

Carl Sagan was a damn dirty plagiarist. Also a hypocritical pothead who was molested by a dolphin.

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[ArcadeMan]

Leeloo Dallas Multipass.

Concidence?

[jonr]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/05/kfc-kentucky-fried-chicken-boneless-fast-food-chicken/2011419/ [usatoday.com]

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[ArcadeMan]

Finally!

Computer, one Pink [wikipedia.org] please!

There's been a bit of this for about 5 years ...

[dbIII]

... and some places are already working on nerve cells.
The news here is probably a better method than previously but the journalist probably jumped to conclusions about first steps.

Market disruption

[turkeyfeathers]

The folks at Kleenex must be worried. When people can print their own tissues at home, why would they buy a box of them in the store?

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[Megane]

Maybe it makes toilet tissue. Now if you get surprised to find no more rolls on the shelf, you can just print one for an emergency wipe!

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[tehcyder]

Maybe it makes toilet tissue. Now if you get surprised to find no more rolls on the shelf, you can just print one for an emergency wipe!

Are you really going to buy, maintain and find room for a 3D printer in your bathroom for the one-in-a-million time you run out of arse-wiping material?

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[ThatsNotPudding]

The folks at Kleenex must be worried. When people can print their own tissues at home, why would they buy a box of them in the store?

Dream on!

It took many, many decades to prefect a product that can survive the rigors of production, packaging, shipping, and stocking and only self-destruct in a cloud of lint when the end user pulls one out!

For Geeks...

[sociocapitalist]

print-a-girlfriend.com

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[Khashishi]

Printing negative money is different though.