Catherine Proskoff 9/18/19
AP Biology Current Event #3
Brownell, Lindsay. “A Swifter Way Towards 3D-Printed Organs.” Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, 9 Sept. 2019, wyss.harvard.edu/a-swifter-way-towards-3d-printed-organs/.
In the article “A Swifter Way Towards 3D-Printed Organs” Lindsay Brownell described how researchers from Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have recently taken a major step forward that may soon make 3D-printed organs a reality. To date, all 3D-printed human tissues have had several issues which have prevented them from functioning successfully in human organ repair and transplant. These tissues lack cellular density, are too small for organ-level functions, and most importantly, they do not have an effective oxygen delivery method to nourish the cells within the tissue. Fortunately, researchers from Harvard’s Wyss Institute and SEAS have managed to develop a technique known as sacrificial writing into functional tissue, or SWIFT. The process of creating an organ using this technique begins with the formation thousands of stem-cell-derived organ building blocks, or OBBs, which are derived from adult induced pluripotent stem cells and are capable of forming organ-specific tissue. The OBBs are combined with an extracellular matrix solution, forming a living matrix, and compacted in a mold via centrifugation for a high cellular density. The substance within the mold is cooled until it can be manipulated, but is strong enough to hold its shape. It is at this point that the SWIFT technique is used - a nozzle containing sacrificial gelatin “ink” moves through the matrix gently moving cells aside without damaging them. With this method,single and branched channels can be printed in any direction. The matrix is heated at 37℃, at which point the matrix stiffens and solidifies, while the ink melts and can be washed out. This leaves the organ with a series of channels, which can be used to transfer oxygen and other necessary nutrients throughout the tissue.
Using this method, the team was able to successfully “print” a perfusable cardiac tissue that was able to beat synchronously over a seven day period. This is a massive achievement which can provide hope for hundreds of thousands of people in need of a transplant. Within the U.S. alone, 20 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant, and over 113,000 patients are currently on organ waitlists. Now more than ever, with heart disease among the ten leading causes of adult death in the United States, organ printing is the miracle that could solve the problem of organ shortage and change hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S. and around the world. The ability to grow functional human organs outside the body would allow for major advancements in medicine and healthcare, and has a tremendous amount of potential that is yet to be explored.
Brownell’s article was well written and informative. It broke down the complex procedure and ideas of 3D-printing organs and presented them in a simplistic, easily understandable manner. The article described how the benefits of this technology would alleviate, if not solve the problems of organ shortage that exist both in the U.S. and around the world. Brownell’s article also provided a variety of visual media that complemented the article. Images provided additional evidence showing the success of this technology, and a video embedded in the article explained the SWIFT method briefly, complete with even more visual aids. Brownell also provided quotes from both the researchers and directors overseeing the experiments, which clarified what they hoped to achieve and how they wanted to utilize the SWIFT technology. The article was very concrete, and lacked only a description of how long, expensive, and labor-intensive the production of 3D-printed organs would be.
Lily Jebejian
ReplyDelete10/1/19
AP Bio
Current Event #4
Brownell, Lindsay. “A Swifter Way Towards 3D-Printed Organs.” Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, 9 Sept. 2019, wyss.harvard.edu/a-swifter-way-towards-3d-printed-organs/.
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2019/09/catherine-proskoff-91819-ap-biology.html
Catherine did a great job in her review of “A Swifter Way Towards 3D-Printed Organs” by Lindsay Brownell. She summarized her article in a way that was clear and informative. The article was not super easy to follow, but Catherine utilized facts and evidence from the article to make her review seamless. In her summary Catherine first talks about the original complications scientist were having in 3D-printing organs, she then presents the information about the new study going on. She discusses the study currently underway at Harvard’s Wyss institution, in which scientists are developing methods to use stem cells to create new organs. They are using a program called sacrificial writing into functional tissue, or SWIFT which is developing new ways to better print organs. Finally she discusses how the cells come together to form a living matrix. She uses the information from the article to paraphrase into her own words and describe it in a way that logically makes sense to the reader.
Overall, Catherine did a great job in her review, I just felt that there were places in which she could do more to make her review more accurate. I feel like she could have used quotes, this would have backed her claims with more evidence and is also a way to tie the article in. Quotes would have been a good way to summarize some of the specifics of the study because I felt at times it was hard to understand how she was describing the work. Her language was unclear at times and I felt like this could have been easily fixed with quotes or just a more simplified summary.
Finally, Catherine did a good job reviewing a complicated article and I was able to learn about such an exciting new innovation. Her review used data that was very powerful, “Within the U.S. alone, 20 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant, and over 113,000 patients are currently on organ waitlists”(Proskoff), before reading this article I didn’t realize how many people were affected by organ donations and the lack of them. This article really opened my eyes to how we can use technology to save hundreds of thousands of lives across the globe.
Amanda Troy
ReplyDeleteAP Biology
Mr. Ippolito
10/25/19
Brownell, Lindsay. “A Swifter Way Towards 3D-Printed Organs.” Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, 9 Sept. 2019, wyss.harvard.edu/a-swifter-way-towards-3d-printed-organs/.
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2019/09/catherine-proskoff-91819-ap-biology.html
Catherine’s review of “A Swifter Way Towards 3D-Printed Organs” by Linsday Brownell was extremely detailed and informative. The article that Catherine reviewed was very complex and contained a lot of information. However, Catherine was able to pick apart the article she read and produce a thorough but easy-to understand summary. Catherine begins her summary by first noting the original complications that the scientists were dealing with regarding 3D-printing organs. This is important because it leads to what new study is underway, and why it is taking place. Next, Catherine talks about the information with the new study. Catherine describes the study that is being held at Harvard’s Wyss Institute, where scientists are developing methods to utilize stem cells in order to create new organs. The scientists are using a complex program known as “sacrificial writing into functional tissue”, otherwise known as SWIFT. This program is developing new and improved ways to print organs. Catherine’s final point is how all the cells come together to form a living matrix, and are compacted in a mold via centrifugation for a high cellular density. This is an important note to make because it is at this point that SWIFT can be used.
I think that Catherine did a great job paraphrasing a very complex article, however, she could have incorporated more quotes in order to produce a more seamless summary. Quotes would have also been an efficient way to summarize the specifics of the article, since Catherine’s way of describing the work was a bit confusing at times. Piggy-backing off of that note, I think that Catherine’s language was unclear at times, making it hard to understand certain details of the experiments described in the article. Again, including quotes could have fixed this, producing a more comprehensible summary.
Overall, I think that Catherine did an outstanding job summarizing a very complex and confusing article. I learned about an amazing new innovation that is capable of helping countless people across the globe. I am always intrigued to learn about new technology and how it can be used to save lives worldwide. Reading Catherine’s review was very eye-opening as I learned about the many people who are affected by organ donations along with the lack of them, and what new technology can do to help.