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��ñ���� Today—It weighs 3 to 4 pounds, includes seven different cell types and features an intricate web of blood vessels that help it filter toxins, guard against pathogens, metabolize nutrients and carry out hundreds of other biological functions.

The human liver, experts say, is an architectural wonder. But its complexity has also made it immensely difficult to replicate in the lab.

Now, a multi-institution team, including scientists at the ��ñ����, MIT, Harvard and Columbia universities, is taking on the challenge. Supported by a new five-year, up to $25 million award from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Personalized Regenerative Immunocompetent Nanotechnology Tissue (PRINT) program, they’re working to develop 3D-printed liver tissue made of human cells and able to be transplanted into anyone without their body rejecting it. ��

“There are many patients out there that either never get a transplant or are stuck on the waiting list for years,” said Jason Burdick, a professor of chemical and biological engineering whose lab at CU’s BioFrontiers Institute will lead the 3D printing part of the project.

“If there were an off-the-shelf alternative, once a patient needs a liver they could get a transplant almost immediately,” he said. “That’s our goal.”

Full Story at ���� Today

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