Berkeley Builds a Heart Simulator

Zothecula writes The increasing number of biological structures being grown on chips in various laboratories around the world is rapidly replicating the entire gamut of major human organs. Now one of the most important of all – a viable functioning heart – has been added to that list by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley who have taken adult stem cells and grown a lattice of pulsing human heart tissue on a silicon device.

Nothing new

[Anonymous Coward]

This work has none of the key features of a heart that would make the platform attractive for drug testing. Cardiomyocytes will spontaneously contract [youtube.com] if grown on basically anything. The true value of on a chip platforms is in implementations that can recapitulate higher order function or structure like the Bhatia lab's livers [biomedcentral.com] or the Allbritton lab's colons [rsc.org].

Abuse & Replace

[Nyder]

I'm guessing we'll be having a future of where people will abuse their various body parts via drugs & alcohol and then just buy a new one. The new "plastic surgery".

Personally I'm waiting for the full human clones and the mind transplants.

Re:

[Whiteox]

I agree with the mind transplants, but I wouldn't want a clone of myself as such.

Regards
No 2

Yes, but...

[fph il quozientatore]

Yes, but is it 3D printed?

Re:

[boristdog]

And will it run Linux?

Nothing beats...

[nerdyalien]

The Goat Simulator [goat-simulator.com]

Re:

[michelcolman]

What do you mean, worry? Do they have a kickstarter page yet?

Kiddie steps

[Jim Sadler]

OK, so stop messing about and 3d print an entire functioning human being. The idea of clones needs to be updated. We will also need a technology that can print me in a more youthful version as I'm getting a bit too old these days.

Re:

[wiggles]

Combine that with this guy's work [newscientist.com] and you'll have something.