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back to article Gimme some skin: Boffins perfect 3D bioprinter that emits slabs of human flesh

3D printing for most users is limited to polymer printing, or in some cases metal – but now a team from Spain has built hardware that can print actual human skin. The scientists, from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, the Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research, and the Hospital General Universitario …

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  1. 45RPM Silver badge

    I don't need to imagine - Red Dwarf taught us exactly what a printer jam looks like!

    8 1 Reply
  2. jake Silver badge

    Switch to pigskin & ...

    ... bolt on a deep-fryer, and you'd have unlimited Chicharrón :-)

    9 0 Reply
  3. Dave Hamrix

    When you said Jam, I thought of a toasted English Muffin ( only in usa ) with raspberry jam and some sweet cream butter! Whoops. My bad.

    0 0 Reply
  4. WaveyDavey

    Damned clever

    and I would imagine it is going to be of serious use for burns and skin grafts. Bloody well done.

    25 0 Reply
  5. James 51
    Alien

    I imagine there will be a wide range of uses. The medical and drug testing (and cosmetics too) are obvious. I wonder how long before it will be used to print a new face for the ultimate face lift?

    4 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Yes. imagine Wolowitz range of use... and some robot makers would jump out of their skin to get hold of this technology....

      1 0 Reply

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

  6. 0laf

    Top boffinry.

    Knowing someone that is going through the horrible process of skin grafting something like this will make a huge difference to those people who need it. It's not just for burns either.

    9 0 Reply
  7. POKE 649,0
    Terminator

    I for one welcome our Skynet Overlord and its time-travelling skin wearing T-800 Model 101.

    16 0 Reply
    1. ravenviz Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Up

      Re:

      They'll be making transparent alumin(i)um next

      2 0 Reply
      1. James Loughner
        Reply Icon

        Re: Re:

        Al2O3 also known as sapphire is transparent aluminum

        2 1 Reply
  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How do nerve endings and sweat pores get incorporated? Does the graft get replaced by real skin growth eventually?

    1 0 Reply
  9. tiggity Silver badge

    Potential high price niche narket for weirdo stalkery buffalo bill types?

    They could buy skin printed from sample taken from their celeb of choice

    4 0 Reply
    1. AceRimmer1980
      Reply Icon

      Re: buy skin printed from sample taken from their celeb of choice

      Frequently bought together:

      Crate of skin lotion.

      5 0 Reply
    2. macjules
      Reply Icon
      Coat

      Re: Potential high price niche narket for weirdo stalkery buffalo bill types?

      Kim Kardashian would have a lot to sell then.

      0 0 Reply
  10. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Thumb Up

    Very impressive.

    And not the first cutting edge bio story to come out of Spain recently (fushing the living cells out of a heart to create a scaffold for stem cells to grow into a new, beating heart). The ability to use a subjects own cells suggests you can avoid rejection problems as well.

    Possibly the most curious tidbit of this is that this field is well enough developed to have a journal. Who'd ever heard of "Biofabrication" as title before this?

    7 0 Reply
    1. fajensen
      Reply Icon
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Very impressive.

      When will the interface to PornHub be ready? A .. uh .. friend is asking, it will .. uh .. help him with his studies .. uh .. in medicine, I think.

      1 0 Reply
  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Spam cock enlargement emails

    Oh no, now the email for "male enhancement pills" will be "order a cock replica of your chosen porn star and ride like a donkey"

    Frequently bought together:

    Durex XL

    3 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Spam cock enlargement emails

      "order a cock replica of your chosen porn star and ride like a donkey"

      Maybe it's just because it's Wednesday, but I had to read that twice before I realized it wasn't saying what I thought it said.

      2 0 Reply
  12. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
    Pint

    An antidote to Fake News

    So much stuff I read and hear these days is so depressing that I am delighted to raise a glass to all those involved.

    Bien hecho.

    5 0 Reply
  13. Alister

    Just imagine what a printer jam looks like

    Well, I would imagine...

    Pretty much like Jam, really, with bits in...

    2 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Just imagine what a printer jam looks like

      So, er, like Spam Jam - the stuff on top when you open a can of Spam?

      2 0 Reply
  14. cantankerous swineherd

    anyone managed to do this trick yet?

    1 0 Reply
  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Stop

    Pull their funding!

    Pretty soon women won't need men at all.

    On second thought...the reverse would also be true.

    In other news: "Environmentalists Fund 3D Flesh Printer"

    0 0 Reply

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