Vaccines in 3D

The latest incarnation of the swine flu spread across the U.S. like wildfire. If the flu had been a zombie plague outbreak, we’d have been in serious trouble. Part of the reason the swine flu was able to spread so easily was the lack of a speedy vaccination response.

Science is amazing, and the fact we can even get our hands on a vaccine to halt diseases like the swine flu is an incredible step for humanity. One last hurdle to be overcome is a method of ensuring a timely response to future diseases. Preparing a vaccine can be done in large enough batches to make sure most people get access, but transportation is the slowest part of the process.

Craig Venter, founder of Celera Genomics and the Institute for Genomic Research, has a plan that may solve this problem. What if the vaccination could essentially be emailed to production facilities around the country? Venter is investigating using biological printers to accomplish just that feat.

Venter and his research team are working on digitizing biological molecules to create files similar to the .stl files used by standard 3D printers. The biological printers would use these blueprints to fabricate a vaccine by building it molecule by molecule.

“We found a way we can move proteins, viruses and single human cells at the speed of light,” said Venter. “We can digitize biology, send it at the speed of light and reconfigure the biology at the other end.”

If this system ends up working out, getting a vaccine could be as easy as making a trip to a drugstore equipped with a bio printer. This would decrease waste, nearly eliminate shipping costs and possibly reduce the price of vaccines. Looked at on a global scale, this process would also make sending a vaccine to a country with a less defined infrastructure faster, more secure and less expensive.

Of course, there are a few potential issues with the process. As always, IP rights rear their ugly head whenever you start printing out something developed by a corporation. Some safeguard would have to be in place to ensure that companies that spent millions developing a cure weren’t robbed of sales by electronic piracy.

In the wrong hands, the same process used to cure could also be used to harm. Printing biological or chemical weapons wouldn’t be that much different than creating life-saving medicines. If the process moves forward, expect to see heavy security regulations to go along with it.

Below you’ll find a video in which Venter discusses a number of health issues.

Source: psfk