Skip to Navigation Skip to Posts Skip to Content
Protein Protein
  • Home
  • Join
  • Sign in
  • About
  • Contributors
  • Contact
  • - Sections
  • Seeds
  • Supplement
  • Forums
  • Briefings
  • Reports
  • Observations
  • Stories
  • Sounds
  • - Network
  • Studios
  • Agency
  • Store
Tags
  • Adventure
  • Advertising
  • Age
  • AI
  • Americans
  • Art
  • Art & Design
  • Beauty
  • Belonging
  • Berliners
  • Books
  • Brazilians
  • Briefings
  • Chinese
  • Community
  • Currency
  • Currency
  • Dating
  • Dirty Words
  • Drugs
  • Dutch
  • Erotica
  • Events
  • Exclusivity
  • Fashion
  • Food & Drink
  • Forums
  • Friendship
  • Gen A
  • Gen Z
  • Gender
  • Germans
  • Good Growth
  • Health
  • Hoarding
  • Humanity
  • Identity
  • Influence
  • Italians
  • Journal
  • Londoners
  • Luxury
  • Mindfulness
  • Music
  • New Spirituality
  • New Yorkers
  • Nostalgia
  • Observations
  • Ownership
  • Parisians
  • Partnership
  • Photography
  • Play
  • Podcast
  • Politics
  • Privacy
  • Profiles
  • Publishing
  • Rebalance
  • Refocus
  • Relevancy
  • Reports
  • Responsive
  • Retail
  • Seeds
  • Sexuality
  • Slow Tech
  • Social Media
  • Sport
  • Subcultures
  • Supplement
  • Sustainability
  • Technology
  • Tokyoites
  • Transportation
  • Travel
  • Updates
  • Wellness
  • Work
  • Youth
Socials
Become a member
Protein Protein
  • Home
  • Tags
Printed Bodies
Technology

Printed Bodies

Kate Villevoye Kate Villevoye February 16, 2015 4 min read
  • Share on X/Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Email

Scientists are making leaps and bounds in developing ways to grow human body parts.

Illustrations by Katie Scott

Science fiction is slowly becoming science non-fiction. Scientists are making leaps and bounds in developing ways to grow human body parts, a breakthrough that could revolutionise the way we treat, repair and think about the human body.

Last April, advanced medical research company Organovo presented a groundbreaking feat in biotechnology: the world’s first fully cellular, bio-engineered liver tissue. In layman’s terms: a man-made liver. It was small – just 20 cell layers thick – and remained alive for only five days. But what was fascinating about this tiny piece of tissue was how it had been made. It had been built by a 3D printer.

Bioprinting is a technological process that places individual cells alongside one another to form new living tissue structures. It works using a device not entirely unlike a more traditional paper printer. A cartridge is loaded with a special mixture of cells, which are slowly assembled, by a computer, into a three-dimensional shape. After that it’s down to nature. The new cells instinctively adapt to each other to complete the construction of the organ.

This post is for paying subscribers only

Become a member now and have access to all posts, enjoy exclusive content, and stay updated with constant updates.

Become a member

Already have an account? Sign in

Protein Protein

A place where people and ideas grow

  • Home
  • Join
  • Sign in
  • About
  • Contributors
  • Contact
  • - Sections
  • Seeds
  • Supplement
  • Forums
  • Briefings
  • Reports
  • Observations
  • Stories
  • Sounds
  • - Network
  • Studios
  • Agency
  • Store

© 2025 Protein XYZ Ltd. Protein is a registered trademark of Protein Holdings Ltd.
Feed
Paid Post Seeds

Why Typos Are Chic

Jul 8, 2025 6 min read
Supplement

719 | Understanding Nostalgia, Reconsidering Rage & Sending Tourists Home

Jul 4, 2025 3 min read
Paid Post Seeds

Making Waves

Jul 3, 2025 8 min read
Paid Post Seeds

The Internet Has Borders

Jul 1, 2025 5 min read
Featured Post Reports

The Nostalgia Report

Jun 26, 2025 2 min read
Paid Post Seeds

Rage, Reconsidered

Jun 24, 2025 5 min read
Paid Post Seeds

Tourists Go Home

Jun 20, 2025 9 min read
Paid Post Seeds

The Business of Spirituality

Jun 17, 2025 5 min read
Seeds

Inside SEED CLUB

Jun 12, 2025 6 min read
Paid Post Seeds

Decadent Queuing

Jun 10, 2025 4 min read
Load More You've reached the end of the list
  • Home
  • Join
  • Sign in
  • About
  • Contributors
  • Contact
  • Seeds
  • Supplement
  • Forums
  • Home
  • Join
  • Sign in
  • About
  • Contributors
  • Contact
  • - Sections
  • Seeds
  • Supplement
  • Forums
  • Briefings
  • Reports
  • Observations
  • Stories
  • Sounds
  • - Network
  • Studios
  • Agency
  • Store
Tags
  • Adventure
  • Advertising
  • Age
  • AI
  • Americans
  • Art
  • Art & Design
  • Beauty
  • Belonging
  • Berliners
  • Books
  • Brazilians
  • Briefings
  • Chinese
  • Community
  • Currency
  • Currency
  • Dating
  • Dirty Words
  • Drugs
  • Dutch
  • Erotica
  • Events
  • Exclusivity
  • Fashion
  • Food & Drink
  • Forums
  • Friendship
  • Gen A
  • Gen Z
  • Gender
  • Germans
  • Good Growth
  • Health
  • Hoarding
  • Humanity
  • Identity
  • Influence
  • Italians
  • Journal
  • Londoners
  • Luxury
  • Mindfulness
  • Music
  • New Spirituality
  • New Yorkers
  • Nostalgia
  • Observations
  • Ownership
  • Parisians
  • Partnership
  • Photography
  • Play
  • Podcast
  • Politics
  • Privacy
  • Profiles
  • Publishing
  • Rebalance
  • Refocus
  • Relevancy
  • Reports
  • Responsive
  • Retail
  • Seeds
  • Sexuality
  • Slow Tech
  • Social Media
  • Sport
  • Subcultures
  • Supplement
  • Sustainability
  • Technology
  • Tokyoites
  • Transportation
  • Travel
  • Updates
  • Wellness
  • Work
  • Youth
Socials
Paid Post Seeds

Why Typos Are Chic

Jul 8, 2025 6 min read
Supplement

719 | Understanding Nostalgia, Reconsidering Rage & Sending Tourists Home

Jul 4, 2025 3 min read
Paid Post Seeds

Making Waves

Jul 3, 2025 8 min read
Paid Post Seeds

The Internet Has Borders

Jul 1, 2025 5 min read
Featured Post Reports

The Nostalgia Report

Jun 26, 2025 2 min read
Paid Post Seeds

Rage, Reconsidered

Jun 24, 2025 5 min read
Paid Post Seeds

Tourists Go Home

Jun 20, 2025 9 min read
Paid Post Seeds

The Business of Spirituality

Jun 17, 2025 5 min read
Seeds

Inside SEED CLUB

Jun 12, 2025 6 min read
Paid Post Seeds

Decadent Queuing

Jun 10, 2025 4 min read
Load More You've reached the end of the list
Become a member