Although there are so many goofy ways 3D printed things entertain us, there are also many ways it can change the lives of people and animals for the better. By now, you’ve probably read many examples of this. From the animal kingdom, my favorite story was the bald eagle who got shot in the face, but was rescued and given a new beak thanks to 3D printing. You can read that story (and see pictures) here on Inhabitat.
When it comes to human beings, 3D printed body parts will be available before we know it. These 3D printed ears which look, feel and function like regular human ears will most likely be available in three short years. In order to continue moving this technology forward so it can benefit humans and animals even more, scientists continue to work hard and push the limits of what’s possible even further.
Recently, scientists at the University of Notre Dame have successfully printed the whole skeleton from a live animal. They took a scan of a living rat, and then they were successful at sending that information to a 3D printer. They recreated an exact replica of the rat’s anatomy.
There are so many ways this breakthrough will help doctors. For example, they will basically be able to 3D print a replica of any living being, and then use that to prepare for a complicated surgery. This could also be tremendously useful to train and educate doctors in all areas of the learning process. You can learn more about this by clicking over to a clinical article on jove where it was originally posted, or you can read about it here on Wired. This is all so inspiring. Before you know it, we’ll be cloning people with 3D printing. Hey, you never know!
3D Printed Animal Skeleton
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