Granted it's smaller than a penny, but this lung-mimicking air sac could bring us one step closer to understanding how we could replicate human organs using a patient's cells which could one day help to avoid organ rejection.

雖然大小比一分錢還小，但這個模擬的肺泡氣囊帶領我們向前，更了解如何用患者的細胞複製人體器官，以避免未來發生器官排斥現象。

The team behind this model is trying to replicate the complicated architectural structures of our organs using 3D bioprinting and used the lung as their proof of concept.

這組模型背後的團隊嘗試用 3D 生物列印複製器官內複雜的結構，並把肺當作成功的案例。

"It is a very complicated structure, yet it has extremely clear readouts for its function."

「內部結構極其複雜，但對每項功能的指令都十分明確」。

"If we have a mimic of lung tissue, we can pump in deoxygenated red blood cells."

「如果模擬出肺部組織，我們可以打入去氧紅血球」。

"We can ventilate in the airway oxygen, and we can see to what extent those red blood cells will take up the oxygen that we've been putting into the air sac."

「我們可以用氧氣讓氣道通暢，然後再看紅血球要到達怎樣的程度，才會接收輸入氣囊的氧氣」。

Being able to print multiple independent vessel architectures has been one of the biggest challenges in the world of artificial organs.

列印出各種獨立的血管構造是人工器官的一大挑戰。

That's because our organs are, well, pretty complicated.

這是因為我們的器官十分複雜。

You see, each tissue has its own knotted mess of blood vessels, which are physically and biochemically mixed.

每個組織的血管都錯綜複雜，結合身體與生化上的原理。

And they serve crucial purposes by supplying organs with essential nutrients.

它們的任務就是供給重要的養分給器官。

Take the liver for example.

以肝為例。

It has over 500 functions, like producing bile for digestion and maintaining the right amounts of blood sugar within the body.

它有超過 500 個功能，像是為消化系統分泌膽汁，以及維持體內的血糖值。

All these functions depend on the intricate network of vessels to get their necessary nutrients.

這些功能仰賴於血管複雜的網狀系統，才能得到必要的養分。

It's this multi-vascular architecture that makes mimicking and replicating human organs so difficult.

就是這樣的多血管構造讓模擬、複製人體器官難上加難。

If we could figure it out, the payoff would be huge.

如果我們能解決這個問題，成果將頗為豐碩。

Over 100,000 people are waiting for organs in the U.S. and bioprinting healthy organs could be a way to address this shortage by supplying replacement organs.

美國有超過十萬的人正等著器官捐贈，生物列印的健康器官是一個解決器官短缺的方法。

It could also reduce the incidents of organ rejection since bioprinted organs would contain the patient's own cells.

也可以減少器官排斥現象產生，因為生物列印的器官含有患者自體細胞。

But, working with living cells isn't easy.

然而，活體細胞很難處理。

They're extremely fragile outside of the body and once they've been extracted, they need to be placed into their final structure as quickly as possible to ensure survival.

它們在體外十分脆弱，且一旦被取出，要盡快將其植入目標物，以確保存活率。

The cells are then encapsulated within a hydrogel, a water-based material which emulates a cell's environment, to allow them to survive for longer periods.

這些細胞被封裝進水凝膠，即主要成分是水的一種材料，它能模擬細胞生存的環境，使其存活時間更長。

So how did Jordan and his team print the lung model?

所以 Jordan 和他的團隊怎麼印出肺模型？

They used a technique called stereolithography apparatus for tissue engineering, or SLATE.

他們利用一項叫作「組織工程的立體光刻設備」的技術，或簡稱為 SLATE。

It's an open-source bioprinting technology that uses additive manufacturing to create soft hydrogels layer-by-layer by using light from a digital projector.

這是一項共享資源的生物列印技術，藉由數字光處理投影儀的光束，使用積層製造來創造一層層的軟水凝膠。

So this is a light-based polymerization system.

所以這是以光為基礎的聚合系統。

So we have a light-sensitive liquid, that when you shine the right color of light at the right intensity of energy, the right number of photons hit that sample, you can convert that liquid into a solid only in that region.

在適當的能量強度下使用正確顏色的光線照射光敏液膠時，正確數量的光子會撞擊該樣品，只有在此環境下一液體才能轉換成固體。

But using light also created some issues, since the light could get into previously solidified layers, thus disrupting the intended pattern.

但光線也帶來其他問題，由於光能進入前面的凝固層，所以會破壞之後的組成型態。

To address this, the team searched to find an element that could block light and that was biocompatible.

為解決此問題，團隊欲尋找一種能阻光、具有「生物相容性」的元素。

And the winner was food dye.

最終決定是食用色素。

"These biocompatible food additives that all of us are eating all the time anyway, we already know that they're biocompatible."

「由於我們每天接觸這些具有生物相容性的食品添加物，因此得知它們具有生物相容性」。

"They're compatible with live cells, and they can be used as potent photo absorbers to block the light penetrating previous layers, getting us our complex architecture."

「它們和活細胞相容，且作為強效的光吸收劑時，能阻止光進入前面的凝固層，讓我們成功地完成複雜的器官構造」。

The food dyes were able to confine the solidification to a thin layer, creating the desired internal structures.

食用色素能使固體狀變為薄薄一層，創造出眾所渴望的內部構造。

In the end, these tissues proved to be sturdy enough to withstand blood flow and pulsating breathing, the rhythm that mimics the pressures and frequencies of how we breathe.

最後，這些組織變得足夠堅固，能夠承受血流的壓力、脈動，以及呼吸時產生的壓力與頻率之節奏。

So this model may be tiny, but it's just the beginning for Jordan and his team.

雖然這個模型非常小，但這只是 Jordan 團隊的開端而已。

They plan to make more complex designs and scale them up.

他們計畫按比例擴大，做出更複雜的設計。

And in the spirit of teamwork and advancing research, they've made their work's source data freely available.

秉持著團隊合作與進階研究的精神，他們將研究數據完全公開。

"We're using open-source to be able to make the 3D printer, we're giving back to the open-source community our designs."

「為製造 3D 列印機，我們使用開放資源，而現在我們要把自己的構思回饋於開放資源社群」。

"But I think scientists in general, get a little bit nervous about releasing things into the open, because they're like,"Well, what are people going to use this for? I don't really know."

「但我認為一般來說，科學家有點怕開放資源，因為他們認為『大家要拿來做什麼？我真的不清楚』」。

"You actually want to open-source your stuff because you don't know what people are going to use it for.

「就是因為不知道大家要作什麼用途，才要開放資源」。

"And that's really the power behind open-source, and it's really the power behind science."

「這才是開放資源背後的力量，更是科學背後的力量」。

And thanks to collaborative efforts like these, we'll one day be able to 3D bioprint organs to help address the organ shortage.

幸好有這樣共同的努力，未來我們得以用 3D 生物列印器官解決器官短缺的問題。

If you liked this video, check out our other 3D printing video where a new 3D printer can shape objects, all-at-once, using specialized synthetic resin and rays of light.

如果喜歡這支影片，觀看我們其他關於 3D 列印的影片吧，看看新的 3D 印表機如何利用專業的合成樹脂與光線塑造形體。

Make sure to subscribe to Seeker and thanks for watching.

記得訂閱 Seeker，謝謝收看。