Evolution is something that humanity has been going through for however many hundred thousand years we've been kicking around this planet on the outer edge of a spiral galaxy. It's been a long, slow, laborious process. We've gotten to where we are now, and it may now be the time that evolution picks up speed. 3D printing, the ability to create almost any object that you can imagine in plastic, metal and various other high tech substances is now something that can be done not in a giant factory, but from the comfort of your own desk, to your own 3D printer sitting next to your desk.
What intrigues me is where this goes from here. To be able to print parts for a car, a machine, a printer, is one thing. But what about printing parts for the ultimate machine - the human body!
What if we could print, not plastic or metal, but bone, skin and flesh? Where would that leave us in the short and long term? A lot of work has been done, is being done and will be done in regard to organ transplant and replacement. There has been some success in “vat grown” replacements for skin and tissue. And while it sounds a bit “Dr. Frankenstein” it’s a very important step forward in respect to human evolution. William Gibson, the “father” of the cyberpunk genre unwittingly chose the japanese city of Chiba as the centre for a large number of vat grown body part replacements, sitting side by side with the more mechanical “cyberware”. And these vat grown items are now starting to become a reality.
If we go a little further down the rabbit hole, we can see this expanding. Firstly, if we take the idea of the vat grown parts but instead of growing them from stem cells or the like, we inject that raw material into a printer. Then, using a pre-determined "plan" we can print the required part. Let's start simple, something like an ear, or least the outter part of one. Close proximity scans can be taken of the patients existing ear structure. This is then fed into the computer, allowing it to generate a 3D mesh of the design. This mesh is then sent to the printer, and layer by layer it builds the required part. Once completed, this can then be surgically attached to the patient. To add to this, if the structure is built using DNA provided by the patient, then there should (theoretically) be no rejection, which means no lifelong drug therapy. Heart transplants, liver transplants, kidney transplants then become something that while still major, no longer have the added requirement of a compatible donor.
Of course, the drug companies probably won’t be too happy to see their profits disappear, so they’ll have to come up with something to bolster them. Perhaps, drug therapy that can be applied directly to the printout? Want stronger bones, just add some additional elements to the print queue. Want denser muscle fibres for increased strength, pump in the appropriate agents during the print job. But it doesn’t stop there does it. Let’s delve a little deeper, to the point where we are able to print some of the more delicate structures in the human body. Lets say you are unfortunate enough to work in an environment that is full of airborne toxins. Rather than waste money on external filtration apparatus, gas masks, all that sort of thing, why not have your lungs “upgraded”. Have a new set printed up that have been modified to stop absorbtion of those toxic particles? Maybe the company will even pay for them up-front, and you’ll just have a small amount deducted from each pay. Of course, if you leave then your severance could be more severe than you realise.
And if we go further, that dicky knee that’s been giving you trouble since you got creamed playing street footy can be rebuilt. Totally rebuilt, better, stronger, and using all your own DNA. Now, at some point someone is going to want to “improve” what they already have. Maybe they just want to be able to see better. Today, we have laser corrective surgery to resolve visual issues, but take that a step further. Instead of attempting to repair the damage (with the risks inherent in that), just print a new eyeball to replace the faulty one. Work in low light? Have low light amplification or thermal vision installed. And all these replacements have another effect on us. We’ll live longer, in theory. Everytime we replace, update, upgrade an existing body part, we let the body continue to function beyond it’s normal limits. Vanity could quickly take centre stage as people have complete body overhauls, replacing skin, muscle, bone with new upgraded versions. So just be aware, that hot guy or girl you’ve just spent the last hour making eyes at across the bar, could be old enough to be one of your great grand grand parents.
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