A Korean-Canadian girl born without a trachea has undergone successful surgery to implant an artificial windpipe grown from her own stem cells.
Watch 3D-printed synthetic tissue react like the real thing
Scientists from Oxford University have developed a tissue-like printed material consisting of thousands of water droplets encased in a liquid film. They've essentially created printable artificial tissue — and it could someday be used to replace or supplement cells found inside our bodies.
This new discovery will finally allow us to build biological computers
The dawn of biological computers is at hand. In a major first for synthetic biology, Stanford engineers have used genetic material to create a biological transistor. Called the "transcriptor," the creation is the final, missing component necessary for the creation of a biological computer that could enable researchers to …
The CIA's secret experiments to turn cats into spies
Want to know what's going to happen to animals in the next century? Then you must read science journalist Emily Anthes' new book Frankenstein's Cat, about how the animals of tomorrow will be transformed by high tech implants and genetic engineering. We've got an amazing excerpt from the book — about how the CIA tried…
New Experiment Suggests Mammals Could Reproduce Entirely By Cloning
Researchers in Japan have produced 26 successful generations of cloned mice from a single individual. That's a total of 598 mice, all of whom are essentially genetic duplicates. The achievement was made possible by a new cloning technique that allowed researchers to overcome genetic degradation problems characteristic…
Will we ever chow down on kibble made for humans?
Twice a day, I pour my dog a bowl full of kibble, a specially formulated blend of barley, lamb, herring, and few other goodies I'm told will fully meet his nutritional needs. Sorting out my own nutritional needs is a bit more complicated. As much as I appreciate the variety afforded me by the bounty of fruits,…
Researchers use a 3D printer to help grow an ear
The potential for 3D printers is quite mind-blowing, especially when considering their role in biotechnology. The latest breakthrough in this regard comes from Cornell University researchers who showed that it's possible to create a replacement ear using a 3D printer and an injection of living cells. Once refined, the …
A 3D Printer That Generates Human Embryonic Stem Cells
3-D printers can produce gun parts, aircraft wings, food and a lot more, but this new 3-D printed product may be the craziest thing yet: human embryonic stem cells. Using stem cells as the "ink" in a 3-D printer, researchers in Scotland hope to eventually build 3-D printed organs and tissues. A team at Heriot-Watt…
A simple biotechnology that could prove once and for all whether…
You've probably heard about the controversy over fracking, a method of pulling oil out of shales. Fracking involves pumping water deep into the ground to create fractures in rocks — in a best-case scenario, these fractures allow hydrocarbons to well up naturally. The problem is that you can't always control how the…
