The technology described in this article may soon make it possible to "take living cells, load them into a printer, and squirt out a 3D tissue that could develop into a kidney or a heart." I am not as thrilled by this news as I am sure many are. Restorative therapies employing stem cells undoubtedly hold great medical promise, but I am uncomfortable with the idea (which seems to be inherent in the whole concept) that human beings are really, ultimately, going to be responsible for every aspect of the creation of life itself.
My "two worlds" theory suggests that this effort swims against our real human condition. We have enough to do, it seems to me, to create "our" world, without having to take over responsibility for creating the living world of Nature, too. I anticipate nothing but problems when we try to defy what is the axiomatic rule of life: what lives, dies, so that life may abound.
As we begin to ponder the philosophical (not to say the real) implications of this new technology, I feel certain that someone has already begun writing a new science fiction novel highlighting the complications sure to ensue when we can print ourselves a girlfriend (or a boyfriend).
This takes Match.com to a whole new level.
Image Credit:
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/02/06/3d-printed-human-embryonic-stem-cells/
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