[TML] 3D Tissue Printer

[Jerry W Barrington]

On 1/27/08 3:42 PM, "Knapp" <magick.crow at gmail.com> wrote:

>>>> If you are completely printing an adult sized human brain then
>>>> assuming you also had the technology to scan one in the first place
>>>> the printer will also create the hural pathways, hence personality,
>>>> memory etc. Then run off lots of copies (making sure you
>>> use a new ink
>>>> cartridge to avoid fade) and there you are back to "clones"
>>>> 
>>>> Antony
>>>> 
>>> Yes, but clones don't have the same neural pathways or other
>>> pathways, like antibodies, for that matter. Douglas E Knapp
>>> _______________________________________________
>> Ah but if these are printings of scanned images which came complete with
>> nurla pathways then the print out will also have them.
>> 
>> Antony
> Yes, that is my point. These would not be clones but copies. Clones
> are the same at birth (sort of) but then grow up and change. Copies
> would be the same as the thing (adult) copied.

Seems like a tissue printer would just put cells and stuff in place, and
leave it to the cells to make their own connections.  That wouldn't copy the
neural pathways.  In fact, it needn't even copy the specific position of
each cell, just put the right types of cells in the right volume of space.

And the neural pathways are partly in the nature of the cell.  Copying to
that much detail *would* be reinventing the ST transporter.