It was a gripping plotline on Grey’s Anatomy but it seems that a 3D medical printer may actually be a reality. Bloomberg reports that L’Oreal is revolutionising product testing by creating layers of artificial skin. In a bid to find an alternative to animal testing, the beauty giant has teamed up with Organovo-a company who have already made huge progress in 3D-printing human organs and tissue for medical research purposes.
Bloomberg explains: “Using the current method, skin samples are grown from tissues donated by plastic surgery patients in France and are then cut into thin slices and broken down into cells. Those cells are placed in trays, fed a special, proprietary diet, and exposed to biological signals that mimic those of actual skin.” Although the process takes huge organisation and an army of scientists, if anyone can do it, L’Oreal can. Anything that puts animal testing into the books of history definitely has my vote.
Twenty Six Style 