尽管这些大脑没有进入任何人的身体，但是他们给科学院研究脑科疾病提供了原材料。

5.3-D Printed Ears

5.3-D 打印耳朵

We've had the technology to artificially restore hearing for decades, but internal implants do nothing for the visible parts of the ear. You'd think those big flaps (“pinnae”) on either side of your head would be easy to replicate, since they're just skin and cartilage rather than complex organs. In reality, scientists have never done a good job with fake ears. Traditional replacements look and feel like plastic toys.

我们发展出人工记录声音的技术已经有几十年了，但是人工植入器官在耳朵这一领域没有任何改变。你可能认为生长在头两边的肉块极易替换，因为它们只是皮和软骨，而不是复杂的器官。事实上，科学家在制作假耳上并没有做得非常出色。传统的替代耳朵看起来或感觉起来都像塑料玩具。

But researchers this year came up with a new method that makes flexible, realistic ears out of real cells. Those cells come from rats and cows, and they form a collagen gel that can take the shape of any mold. When placed in a mold of a human ear—a mold assembled using a 3-D printer—the gel forms an ear in less than an hour. The artificial ear then just needs a few days growing in nutrients before it's ready to be implanted in a subject.

但是今年，研究者提出一种新的方法，这种方法可以通过真的细胞制作出有弹性真实的耳朵。这些细胞来自老鼠和奶牛，可以形成胶原凝胶，按任何模具成型。当放入使用3-D打印技术制作的耳朵模型后，一个小时内那些凝胶形成了一只假耳。在移植到对象之前，人造耳朵只需要在营养成分中生长培养几天。

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