From the doppelgänger in Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to the lab-grown raptors in Jurassic Park, the concept of duplicating living creatures has existed in our media for centuries and persists even today. Nowadays, the concept of recreating a human being or an extinct species is not too fantastical a concept with the advent of 3D printing technologies and research in the fields of biochemistry, anatomy, and cell biology. There are a number of suggested purposes for cloning technology. In one branch of study the media has termed “Farmaceuticals,” scientists can harvest proteins and medications from livestock by inserting “a human gene for a medically useful protein into an animal embryo's DNA and place the embryo
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Seeing as much drug testing and disease data comes from animal models (i.e. mice), cloning models genetically engineered with specific genetic mutations will cut down massively on time required to produce generations of animals suitable for testing which, in turn, will lead to a decrease in time before testing can be completed and conclusions reached. Cloning can also be used to produce stem cells. Stem cells are cells which can change in type and purpose-- biologically, they are used to repair and create parts of the body and keep it in optimal condition; they are often used to rebuild tissues and organs which have been damaged or subjected to disease. Since the genetic information in a stem cell is specific to individuals, transplants are often rejected by the body. Researchers are looking to clone cells for individuals to rebuild damaged or diseased tissues (for example, growing new skin and muscle cells for victims of severe burns). Stem cells carrying genetic information for a disease (e.g. cancer) could be cloned and grown in cultures to help scientists better understand the …show more content…
While still a relatively new field, already “Laboratories have successfully recreated human ears, noses, skull bones, jaw bones, tracheas, ears, noses, skin sections, bladders, arteries, and fat.” (Morber) Using “inks” composed of stem cells, nutrients, osteoblasts, chrondrocytes, hydrogels, etc., printers can create human components such as bone, tissue, and cartilage. Most research at the moment focuses on creating organs but there are several issues impeding this. While tissues can be created, organs need to be integrated with the rest of the body to function-- a 3D printer cannot correctly consolidate blood vessels, nerve cells, etc. with the printed organs. In addition, size remains a problem, whether the organ is large or small. At present, the technology cannot achieve the level of anatomical detail required for a working retina or cochlea, nor the complexity of an organ such as the heart or liver. However, bone and skin tissue have proven to be engineerable and has been successfully integrated into living human patients. Research is currently being conducted to print tissue directly onto soldiers suffering from severe
Seeing as much drug testing and disease data comes from animal models (i.e. mice), cloning models genetically engineered with specific genetic mutations will cut down massively on time required to produce generations of animals suitable for testing which, in turn, will lead to a decrease in time before testing can be completed and conclusions reached. Cloning can also be used to produce stem cells. Stem cells are cells which can change in type and purpose-- biologically, they are used to repair and create parts of the body and keep it in optimal condition; they are often used to rebuild tissues and organs which have been damaged or subjected to disease. Since the genetic information in a stem cell is specific to individuals, transplants are often rejected by the body. Researchers are looking to clone cells for individuals to rebuild damaged or diseased tissues (for example, growing new skin and muscle cells for victims of severe burns). Stem cells carrying genetic information for a disease (e.g. cancer) could be cloned and grown in cultures to help scientists better understand the …show more content…
While still a relatively new field, already “Laboratories have successfully recreated human ears, noses, skull bones, jaw bones, tracheas, ears, noses, skin sections, bladders, arteries, and fat.” (Morber) Using “inks” composed of stem cells, nutrients, osteoblasts, chrondrocytes, hydrogels, etc., printers can create human components such as bone, tissue, and cartilage. Most research at the moment focuses on creating organs but there are several issues impeding this. While tissues can be created, organs need to be integrated with the rest of the body to function-- a 3D printer cannot correctly consolidate blood vessels, nerve cells, etc. with the printed organs. In addition, size remains a problem, whether the organ is large or small. At present, the technology cannot achieve the level of anatomical detail required for a working retina or cochlea, nor the complexity of an organ such as the heart or liver. However, bone and skin tissue have proven to be engineerable and has been successfully integrated into living human patients. Research is currently being conducted to print tissue directly onto soldiers suffering from severe