Building a better human

Scientists equipped with the secrets of the human genome are getting closer to cures for diseases and longer life spans

Building a human
(Image credit: Corbis)

How has technology affected human biology?

The transformation has just begun, but it has already produced startling results. Researchers, for example, have created the equivalent of an ink-jet “printer’’ that uses tubes of cells instead of an ink cartridge to create thin layers of human skin. In time, the technique will help burn victims heal using skin produced from their own cells. Researchers have “printed” a mouse heart, which momentarily beats on its own after receiving an electric shock. In labs around the world, scientists are progressing toward radical new medical treatments by manipulating sections of gene code— removing targeted genes or modifying them by introducing foreign DNA. Researchers are even learning how genes can be turned “off” or “on.” As an example of what may be possible, a herd of genetically modified goats in Massachusetts is producing an otherwise costly anti-clotting drug free of charge—in their milk.

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