PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel doesn’t like to invest in normal things. First he backed a libertarian island paradise, then it was paying kids not to go to college, and now it’s 3D-printed meat.
According to CNET, the Thiel Foundation announced it’s donating $350,000 to a start-up called Modern Meadow which is developing something called bio-printing. Its ultimate aim? To print you a nice juicy pork chop, minus all of the environmental consequences that go into growing livestock. Scientists have already been experimenting with bio-printing in the field of regenerative medicine. The hope is that if you need a kidney transplant in the future, doctors will simply be able to print you a new one. Apparently, growing meat is easier than growing organs. In Modern Meadow’s grant application to the Department of Agriculture, the company points out that ”as meat is a post mortem tissue, the vascularization of the final product is less critical than in medical applications.” Mmm, I can smell that sizzling bio-printed post mortem tissue already. The main demographics Modern Meadow is going after are vegetarians who don’t eat meat for ethical reasons and “culinary early-adopter consumers,” i.e. guys who eat things like the Pizzabon on a dare. The company also plans on marketing its product to people with religious restrictions on eating meat. You know what that means: Kosher engineered comestible meat products. Move over, Hebrew National! Researchers’ first step is to “fabricate 3D cellular sheets composed of porcine cells” — henceforth to be known as the other, other, other white meat — and mature those sheets into muscle tissue with electrical stimulation inside of a bioreactor. If all goes as planned, the first thing on the menu will be “animal muscle strip” that can be minced and eaten in sausage, patty or nugget form, which, to be frank, doesn’t sound that much more unnatural than what’s normally put in your average sausage, patty or nugget. While 3D-printed meat might not sound appetizing, Modern Meadow is trying to solve a very thorny issue: meat is very resource intensive and people in developing countries are acquiring a taste for it. According to an earlier study by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan, 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the same amount of carbon dioxide emitted by an average European car over 155 miles. Despite that, demand for meat is only going up. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (PDF), in 1961, the average person ate 48 pounds of beef; in 2007 that number grew to 88 pounds. If our global appetite for meat doesn’t die down, Modern Meadow’s 3D-printed pork might be more of a necessity than a novelty. Read more: http://techland.time.com/2012/08/16/billionaire-peter-thiels-latest-investment-3d-printed-meat/#ixzz2ZXxi9aJA On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 9:48 PM, Axil Axil <janap...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Researchers claim that they have cracked the code when it comes to using > 3D printing to create stem cells — so what happens next? > > Unfortunately, organ donors are few and far between. Even if you have a > potential match, after spending a long time on a waiting list, conditions > worsen and an organ may not be accepted. The lack of available organs is > one that causes hospitals to enter continual battles over the rationing of > such resources. As a surgeon I know told me, this can not only strain the > relationship between different hospitals, but of course also impact > patients. > > So what can be done, except finding artificial methods to prolong life > until organs become available, or creating substitutes for organs? > > A new technique, pioneered by researchers at Heriot-Watt University in > Scotland in collaboration with stem cell technology company Roslin Cellab, > uses 3D-printing technology — otherwise used in robotics, gun manufacture > and as a replacement for photography — in the hopes to eventually eliminate > the need for organ donation, immunosuppressant drugs and organ transplant > rejection. > > The new valve-based process takes advantage of the fact that stem cells > can now be grown in labs. A printer creates a three-dimensional sphere > which contains delicate embryonic cell cultures that float in a liquid > medium. These cells are then built up using an adjustable “microvalve” to > create layers and encourage cells to spawn. > > As stem cells can become any organ in the body, being able to quickly > produce them could result in 3D-printed organs specifically tailored to a > patient’s body. > > Dr. Shu said: > > > “In the longer term, we envisage the technology being further developed to > create viable 3D organs for medical implantation from a patient’s own > cells, eliminating the need for organ donation, immune suppression and the > problem of transplant rejection.” > > The team say this is the first time that cells have ever been printed > using 3D-printing techniques. More importantly, the cells survived the > experimental process, and in the first stages the breakthrough will be used > to develop drug-testing products. > > Jason King, business development manager of Roslin Cellab, commented: > > > “Normally laboratory-grown cells grow in 2D but some cell types have been > printed in 3D. However, up to now, human stem cell cultures have been too > sensitive to manipulate in this way. > > This is a scientific development which we hope and believe will have > immensely valuable long-term implications for reliable, animal-free > drug-testing and in the longer term to provide organs for transplant on > demand.” > . > > > > > On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 8:30 PM, OrionWorks - Steven Vincent Johnson < > orionwo...@charter.net> wrote: > >> The claim is that Within five years 3D printing will be possible using a >> variety of materials not previously possible. This includes metal (Metal! >> That absolutely blows my mind!), nylon, clay, wood pulp, and many types of >> plastics and polymers. The complexity of what can be "printed" will >> continue to increase. Kiplinger gave an example of where 3D printing might >> be used to create not just the plastic housing of a tape measure, but >> actual kind of tape as well. Another example that currently is being >> developed is a company that customizes brackets to mount a GPS receiver on >> a bike**** >> >> ** ** >> >> What's amazing about 3D printing is that what used to take a week and >> cost $300 will soon be able to be accomplished in about two hours - for >> perhaps ten bucks. The shoe company, New Balance is working out the plans >> to churn out custom athletic shoes with 3-D printers in some of their >> stores. What about people with odd sized feet, like my wife! I don’t think >> they should focus just on athletic shoes. **** >> >> ** ** >> >> I suspect there’s probably a HUGE market for all sorts of customized >> products, and not just for shoes. I could see how companies like Café Press >> and Zazzle could incorporate 3D printing in order to manufacture all sorts >> of products. For example, I currently have a Zazzle store front at:**** >> >> ** ** >> >> http://www.zazzle.com/orionworks**** >> >> ** ** >> >> With new 3D printing technology at their disposal, artists like me and my >> wife could go to town possibly developing all sorts of customized products >> for customers.**** >> >> ** ** >> >> Kiplinger concluded with an imaginary scene, of "Coming to fashion >> runways soon: High-tech clothing with amazing features... fabrics that >> change colors, repel oil, kill bacteria, charge cell phones and more. What >> this implies: There will be lots of Military and blue-collar apparel. 3D >> printing will allow chemical nanolayers that help protect soldiers from >> biological weapons. It will help outdoor workers from bug bites too. The 3D >> process will also be useful for restaurant workers, helping them stay >> clean. It will also help mechanics ward off oil stains.**** >> >> ** ** >> >> Neat!**** >> >> ** ** >> >> Still, I wonder when the wall socket will become obsolete! ;-)**** >> >> ** ** >> >> Regards,**** >> >> Steven Vincent Johnson**** >> >> svjart.OrionWorks.com**** >> >> www.zazzle.com/orionworks**** >> >> tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/newvortex/**** >> >> ** ** >> > >
