The Digestive System - Coursework Example

Task Printing A Human Kidney Antony Atala outlines how recently there has been a needing for growth and replacement of body parts through used of modern day science in the lab. He outlines how regeneration is critical and how aviators like Charles Lindberg explored and researched on regeneration in early in 1930s with high hopes of finding a lasting solution. These ideas have been persistent due to the great admiration and desperation for patients to replace their organs. He outlines how in every second patient die when there is a capability to survive if the organ or a tissue is replaced (Whatley and Stuart 12) Recently regenerative medicine has become a fact in science and used in areas of cell therapies in advancement of cardiac stem cells to improve hearts function due to heart failures.

In addition, it is used in tissue engineering in growing organs such as cartilage, bladders, skin, urine tubes, blood vessels and trachea in the lab and implanted in human beings. In the talk, Ted highlights how Institute of Regenerative Medicine is working on the replacement of organs and tissues and cell therapies. He shows how the human kidney can be engineered and how solid organs such as the kidney, liver, pancreas, and the heart holy grails foe conducting tissue engineering. He demonstrates how a 3-D printing technology is used to concrete structures such as the kidney and structured tissues like the ear.

Additionally, he outlines how to use the patient data, for instance, a CT scan in creating a computer model of the organ that is to undergo printing. It is the model that guides in printing a replacement organ layer by layer. These replacement organs are made up of cells and other biomaterials that help in holding the cells together.ReferencesAnthony Atala: Printing A Human Kidney (The Huffington Post)By: Whatley, Stuart.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/printing-organs_n_1160307.html