Have you heard the one about…
posted 09 February 2015 at 11:58:17
The rapid advances in the research and
development of bioprinting – that is, using sophisticated 3D printers to build
living tissue using living cells – are fascinating, with far-reaching ethical
and medical implications. A news story that hit the headlines in 2014 gave
plenty of food for thought on this topic. In a museum in Karlsruhe, Germany,
artist Diemut Strebe exhibited an ear made of human cells grown from samples
provided by a distant relative of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. Yes, the tortured
creative genius Vincent van Gogh. And yes, that ear – the one that he
cut off in a fit of madness in 1888. The ear was bioprinted in a shape that is
‘identical’ to the painter’s actual ear, based on data taken from photos of the
artist. Kept alive inside a solution of nutritional fluids, the ear could
theoretically last for years.
Image: © epa european pressphoto agency b.v./Alamy