Real Driver Park

For people who don't know what HeLa is, HeLa stands for Henrietta Lacks, who donated cells from her cancerous cervix in the the early 1950s.  These cells were one of the first surviving cell cultures, and became integral to discovering many things about cells, cancer, and human bodies. The HeLa cells were the most common cells for experiments using human cells for many years. They are somewhat controversial because she was not aware of her donation (no informed consent) and her family didn't make any money from the sale of cells.

American and Chinese researchers used her cells to create a three dimensional model of a tumor, used to test new drugs in a more realistic way than the traditional single-layer models. the researcher found that around 90% of the cells remained viable after being printed, and that the 3D model was more realistic than the single layer one.

Here is an article with more information on this story and here is an earlier blog post about bioprinting.  Or, click the image above to read a February 2002 NPR article about the book.

- By Jane (7th grade)

On Monday, January 27th, my 7th graders were able to Skype with Keith Murphy, CEO or Organovo.  I heard Keith talk at Inside 3D Printing in San Jose and kept thinking, "I wish my students could hear this!'  As you know, we are big fans of 3D printing and every year we spend time learning about cells.  After his talk, I tracked him down and asked him to take a photo (right). :)  And, as I do with pretty much everyone I meet who is working in professional fields in content areas that I teach, I asked if he would be willing to skype my classroom.  To my surprise and delight, he followed up and we were able to schedule a session!

My kids were excited and ready.  Keith Murphy explained the basics, and my students were surprised to learn that, contrary to what the media would like us to believe, we are nowhere close to printing whole organs.  He explained about the mini-livers and how they are used with drug testing. Then he took their questions.  There is always a moment a a teacher where you hold your breath and hope for the best, but the kids were awesome!  Some of their questions included:

How long does it take to print a blood vessel?

Where do you get the cells?

Are there any companies looking to 3D print skin to replace animal testing for cosmetics?


[more to come]

In this photo, Keith Murphy explains about collagen.