Printing human hearts Paralyzed mice were able to walk again, following implantation of an artificial spinal cord.

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Printing organs for humans may happen sooner than we think In 2017, a small miracle was achieved at Tel Aviv University: Once-paralyzed mice started to walk after a spinal cord implantation. In the near future humans will be able to experience the same miracle. “I think that within 10 to 15 years, we will be able to print for every patient the personalized organ or tissue they need,” says Tal Dvir, founder of Matricelf. “There will be no need for organ donations and no fear of implant rejection.” How does personalized regenerative medicine, as it’s called, work? “This process is a sophisticated combination of tissue engineering, genetic engineering and use of biomaterials,” Dvir explains. “First we take a biopsy of the patient’s fatty tissue. Each type of tissue in the body consists of cells and extracellular substances, such as collagen and sugars. We separate the cells from this extracellular matrix, reprogram them via genetic engineering to become stem cells [which have the ability to differentiate into a wide variety of cells], and in parallel a personalized gel is created from the extracellular […]

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