↑ A visit at the organ craftsman to inspect the commissioned neo- heart.
↑ Silkworms weaving collectively the desired shapes.
↑ The newly created silk scaffolds waiting to be seeded with
cells to be then brought to live.
All content © 2011 Royal College of Art
Site: Loh & Fiedler
Thanks to: T.Lynch, S.Thiel, D. Foster-Smith
If genetically modified silkworms could weave the scaffold for your donor heart instead of a machine – what would you prefer? The silk worm Bombyx Mori has been domesticated for more than 5000 years. The sericulture would weave biodegradable scaffolds for organs, tissues, biosensors and even products – from ‘hardware’ to novel ‘wetware’.
As cardiovascular diseases are globally number one cause of death we will face an increasing scarcity of donor hearts. But does dealing with living material require a more humane way of production? Could this even impact our relationship with the inanimate world around us?
