3D printing: Changing the world

In the Video clip, we are told that it is now possible to 3D print human organs. Experts call it Bio printing. Major universities, corporate laboratories and biomedical engineers are experimenting with Bio printing parts of the human body, and the experts are hoping that eventually it will be possible to print human organs, so that those who are on lists waiting for organs don’t have to wait as long. Pioneers also believe it will be a huge benefit to the public and the medical community to be able to 3D print parts of the human body. We are also told that an artist has been able to 3D print a person’s face, based on their DNA, and that 3D printing could be a pathway to replicating a human being. So what seemed like science-fiction a decade ago, is now rather realistic, now that we have drones and Bio Printing. In the end we are told that is might be possible in the near future, to duplicate a person, because they lay traces everywhere, in form of DNA and also in form of information that they themselves lay on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Discussion:

In the video clip, the news anchor asks, “is this a kind of a pathway to cloning a human being?” (2:40-2:44). However, the interviewed person corrects her, and says that “cloning” is not the correct word, and she herself would rather call it replicating. This I believe she does because the public does not have a positive look on clones, mainly because of science-fiction films and series. But in the end she does admit that it could be possible in the near future to duplicate a person, which is basically the same as cloning a person.