3D打印机有望“打印”出人体器官

　　The machine looks like the offspring of an Erector Set and an inkjet printer。

　　这台机器看起来既像玩具“建造模型”又像喷墨打印机。

　　The "ink" feels like applesauce and looks like icing. As nozzles expel the pearly material, layer by layer, you imagine the elaborate designs this device could make on gingerbread cookies。

　　而“墨水”感觉像是苹果酱看起来却像糖霜一样。当喷嘴层层喷洒这些珍珠粉般的物质时，你大可以想象这台机器将如何在姜饼上面绘制精美的图案。

　　But the goo is made of living cells, and the machine is "printing" a new body part。

　　但是，这些黏性物质是用活着的细胞组成的，而这台机器“打印”的正是一个身体“部件”。

　　These machines - they're called three-dimensional printers - work very much like ordinary desktop printers. But instead of just putting down ink on paper, they stack up layers of living material to make 3-D shapes. The technology has been around for almost two decades, providing a shortcut for dentists, jewelers, machinists and even chocolatiers who want to make custom pieces without having to create molds。

　　这些机器被称为3D打印机，他们的工作原理和平常的打印机非常相似。但和在纸上喷墨不同，他们将层层活性物质累积从而制造一个3D物体。这项技术已经有将近20年的历史，便利了牙医、珠宝商以及机器制造工人的同时，还为那些梦想不用打造模具就可以为人们定制巧克力的巧克力生产商带来了福音。

　　In the early 2000s, scientists and doctors saw the potential to use this technology to construct living tissue, maybe even human organs. They called it 3-D bioprinting, and it is a red-hot branch of the burgeoning field of tissue engineering。

　　在本世纪初，科学家和医生们就看到了该技术的潜力无穷——人们可以利用它制作活性组织，甚至是人类器官。他们称这项技术为3D生物打印，而它也成为组织工程学新兴领域的热门分支。