The list of things you can build with 3D printing seems to grow every day. Many obscure sites offering 3D printing projects allow hobbyists to print their own miniatures and toys, and engineers can now 3D print objects of unexpected size, such as houses and replica skeletons. Recently, scientists invented a 3D printing technique that they believe could resurrect the dodo. But don’t expect to print yours with your home printer.
Recently, Colossal Biosciences (the company trying to revive the woolly mammoth) designed what it claims to be an “artificial egg system.” This invention is a 3D printed network covered with a semi-permeable membrane that allows oxygen but not moisture to pass through. However, Colossal Bioscience’s claim is not mere bragging; the company transferred the contents of fertilized chicken eggs into their 3D-printed counterparts, and the chickens hatched successfully.
According to Colossal Biosciences, 3D printed eggs have many applications, especially because they can be printed in any size. These eggs can support conservation efforts for endangered bird species, but the organization focuses on efforts to resurrect long-dead species, particularly the moa and the dodo. Colossal Biosciences admits that we will likely only arrive at animals that superficially resemble these creatures, but the company is confident that their new eggs will play a vital role in the in vitro creation and development of these resurrected species.
A bit of science fiction supported by real scientific facts
Scientists have criticized Colossal Biosciences in the past for its wishful thinking. Who can forget when the company allegedly resurrected the giant wolf, only for geneticists to reject those claims? But that doesn’t mean Colossal Bioscience’s invention lacks merit.
Technically speaking, scientists have been able to grow chicken embryos in artificial eggs since 1998, but previous methods had one limitation in common: They didn’t provide enough oxygen. The researchers still had to supplement the gas-growing chickens they received, which was not without problems: stillbirths were common. However, Colossal Bioscience’s semi-permeable printed eggs provide more oxygen than other alternative eggshells, which could potentially allow whatever is inside to develop naturally without further intervention.
Even if geneticists were able to develop a functional moa or dodo, many scientists doubt they could survive in the yolk of existing animals. Colossal Bioscience’s 3D printed egg could solve this problem by consolidating the yolk from many eggs into a single large artificial egg, but as it stands, the organization’s invention might be better suited to helping conservation efforts for endangered birds. At least scientists won’t need to modify DNA to recreate an extinct species or sacrifice multiple eggs to feed a large fetus.
