Magazine
March-April 2018
March-April 2018
Volume: 106 Number: 2
The skeleton is sometimes viewed as a passive scaffold for the body, but bone is a living, growing organ. Every few years, your body completely replaces all of your bones with new growth. But what happens when damage is so extensive that bone cannot fix itself? Traditional implants and prostheses have needed to be solid simply to bear the weight of the body. But natural bone has a highly complex and layered structure, making it both tough and light. In “3D Printing of Bone Implants and Replacements,” Susmita Bose, Samuel Ford Robertson, and Amit Bandyopadhyay describe a type of 3D printing that can work with biocompatible powders, closely developed light-but-strong designs, and careful control of the chemical properties of their base materials, resulting in modern implants that can span areas of separated bone and induce it to implement lasting repairs. (Cover image by Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Library.)
In This Issue
- Art
- Astronomy
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Communications
- Computer
- Engineering
- Environment
- Ethics
- Evolution
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Policy
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Technology
The Impish Side of Evolution's Icon
James T. Costa
Biology Evolution
“But I love fools’ experiments. I am always making them.” —Charles Darwin
3D Printing of Bone Implants and Replacements
Susmita Bose, Samuel Ford Robertson, Amit Bandyopadhyay
Biology Technology
Careful tailoring of the chemistry and structure of biomaterials is leading to the production of devices that can help repair or replace damaged tissue.
