2. 3D Printing
3D printing technology has already proven its worth in the business and industrial world. From lowering the cost of prototyping, to helping designers model their concepts, 3D printing is already a fantastic production tool.
Where the process becomes truly revolutionary is when it is applied to healthcare problems. People lose limbs in all sorts of ways, and some are even born without them. Traditional prosthetics have been uncomfortable, expensive, and difficult to use—but 3D printing has already proven it can solve all of those problems. Custom-made, fully-integrated replacement limbs are finally an option for amputees and others in need of prosthetics.
But scientists have taken the technology even further, by designing and printing human organsthat can be safely and successfully transplanted. 3D printing of organs means that a patient can live without the need for someone else to die or make a donation. We can finally forget about designer clones and other sci-fi concerns about growing organs using controversial stem-cell technology. Customized organs—as well as limbs—mean injury and illness don’t have to leave a permanent mark on anyone.
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