We’ve had major steps in recent years involving stem cell research, and the hope of eventually having personalized cheaply made organs that are produced in minutes. Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have brought that reality a step closer, not only creating a way to 3D print embryonic stem cells from donors, but using them for various applications.
Stem cells have been a taboo field in science despite their high value, especially considering that they have to come from embryos and that their use is limited. In 2006, Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka found a way to take adult cells and reprogram them back to a pluripotent stage, which, like stem cells, allow them to be differentiated into any kind of adult cell needed.
Then in 2012, researchers from Heriot-Watt’s Biomedical Microengineering Group and Roslin Cellab created a 3D printer that could print embryonic stem cell cultures. Now, with the two of those discoveries combined, there are two major advances the world can make use of.
First, the obvious: organ creation. The technology is a long way off, but eventually doctors could create personalized organ creation. Currently, donors have to wait on long lists and pay immense bills, all for the hope of living long enough to pay back by their debt and get as many extra seconds as possible. That doesn’t even include the possibility of organ rejection or needing to take medication for life to keep the organ functioning and compatible. With this technology, hospitals could take samples from patients and just whip up an organ for them in a much swifter, more efficient and potentially less costly process.
Second: testing. Between animal and human trials, testing drugs can be a dangerous moral line to cross. Sometimes the effects and consequences of a drug can’t be seen for years. But with this technology, human tissue can be generated and tested to a degree of control, allowing for all the benefits and none of the ill effects of testing.
We often say we want to see the world change. We want to revolutionize health. We want to make costs cheaper for everyone. We want to bring modern medicine to developing nations. This is the step we need to get there. If we focus more of our time expanding upon this research, we could virtually cure all ills and lengthen longevity by decades.
That could come with its own set of problems, of course, but it’s a step we have to take nonetheless. Fixing the world isn’t going to be easy: but working on solutions instead of constantly talking about what won’t work isn’t going to solve anything. And putting our money on progress is a much better bet than the other things we support.
Source: Factor Magazine