Biofabrication

by Ritu Raman

How engineered materials and machines powered by living biological cells can tackle technological challenges in medicine, agriculture, and global security.

You are a biological machine whose movement is powered by skeletal muscle, just as a car is a machine whose movement is powered by an engine. If you can be built from the bottom up with biological materials, other machines can be as well. This is the conceptual starting point for biofabrication, the act of building with living cells—building with biology in the same way we build with synthetic materials. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Ritu Raman offers an accessible introduction to biofabrication, arguing that it can address some of our greatest technological challenges.

After presenting the background information needed to understand the emergence and evolution of biofabrication and describing the fundamental technology that enables building with biology, Raman takes deep dives into four biofabrication applications that have the potential to affect our daily lives: tissue engineering, organs-on-a-chip, lab-grown meat and leather, and biohybrid machines. Organs-on-a-chip (devices composed of miniature model tissues), for example, could be used to test new medicine and therapies, and lab-grown meat could alleviate environmental damage done by animal farming. She shows that biological materials have abilities synthetic materials do not, including the ability to adapt dynamically to their environments. Exploring the principles of biofabrication, Raman tells us, should help us appreciate the beauty, adaptiveness, and persistence of the biological machinery that drives our bodies and our world.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Biology

216 pages, Paperback

Published September 14, 2021

About the author

Ritu Raman, an engineer, writer, and educator, has been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Science list and the MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35 list. She is d'Arbeloff Career Development Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT.

Reviews

[Wendelle]

Written by acclaimed MIT assistant professor of mechanical engineering and Forbes' '30 under 30' recipient Ritu Raman, this book provides a fascinating, informative and clear overview into the hows and whys of biofabrication. She provides essential reading into the techniques of using biological culture for different purposes, such as regenerative medicine or tissue engineering; organs-on-a-chip; lab-grown meat; and biohybrid robots.

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Biofabricated constructs are not static. Unlike synthetic materials, [they] rely on dynamic cues from their environment to inform their form and function and can adapt to their surroundings.’

Perfect for anyone who is unfamiliar with ‘biofabrication’, but I wish it was more ‘in-depth’, and just — ‘more’ in every way. But I am also fully aware that I am expecting way too much from a book with a titular (or rather in terms of book-series) emphasis : (simply) ‘an introduction’ to ‘biofabrication’. Still a pretty interesting read; clear and concise writing style.

‘—autonomous regeneration after damage is not unique to liver tissue. Bone has a tremendous ability to regenerate and is in fact constantly remodelling itself throughout our lives in response to small damages and changing environmental loads. In other words, our bones get stronger when we exercise and can recover from fractures and breaks. Very large damages caused by severe injuries or surgeries such as bone tumour resection, however, cannot be simply regenerated without external medical intervention.’

‘Part-biological and part-synthetic biohybrid machines could augment the existing tools and technologies we rely on to improve human health, productivity, and quality of life.’

‘Cells derived from non-mammalian sources, like bacteria or insects, are being explored for a variety of applications ranging from gut health to global security. Innovators in design and architecture have even proposed that living cells from plants and fungi could serve as sustainable and responsive building materials. These and other applications, while very interesting, are beyond the scope of this book, which is intended to serve as a primer on the main areas of impact that mammalian cell-based biomanufacturing is likely to have on our daily lives.’

‘Manufacturing machines with organic materials that rely solely on sugar and proteins to function sounds like an appealing sustainable alternative to fossil fuel–generated power or to batteries that produce non-biodegradable waste products.’

‘Last, and perhaps most important, building with living cells raises many ethical questions. There is an important distinction between using a cell as a functional building block for a specific device, in a similar fashion to the synthetic materials engineers build with currently, and building autonomous lifeforms capable of conscious decision-making and reproduction. It is important for researchers, policy makers, philosophers, and the general public to reach a consensus on where this distinction lies and to ensure that global guidelines for ethical biofabrication are established, communicated, and uniformly followed.’

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a medical doctor exploring novel technologies that can be applied to different diseases. I’m impressed with the amount of relevant data included in this book, besides the translational value that has the mentioned articles, technologies, methods, protocols, and future perspectives. I’d recommend this book to every doctor, biomedical research, and scientist to read this book because it’s the 21st-century guideline for healthcare innovation. I loved this book.

[Nicolas Posteguillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely outstanding.

The author was able to make, in a relatively short and easy to read book, a complete review of the emerging field of biofabrication. It covers the history and current state of it, first from a broad point of view and then diving deeper into 4 particular cases of application (tissue engineering, organs-on-a-chip, lab-grown meat and leather, and biohybrid machines), mainly from a technical point of view but also considering its economic, social and ethical impacts. The book will probably be enjoyed the most by people with some background in biology, bioengineering or biotechnology; but I think that its nonetheless accessible by anyone thanks to several introductory chapters in which the author covers all the basic knowledge needed as foundation.

My only criticism is that, in my opinion, the figures would have benefited from a less “minimalistic” style, and maybe even by incorporating some color. Still, I don’t know if this was a decision made by the author and the illustrator, or rather a guideline of the series this book is part of.

[Paul Bard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr Raman at 29 years of age has written the equivalent of Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle for biofabrication.

I think she used AI for the writing but the authorship references are clearly hers and they are fascinating.

Most people can read the first 2 chapters and learn how machines are built with biology and that’s perfect.

Chapters 3-6 cover interesting and sometimes creepy applications.

3 covers basic techniques - super fascinating
4 organs on a chip is for big pharma - interesting despite big pharma
5 beautifully explains the difficulties of producing meat.
6 talks about actuators

The ethics in chapter 9 is utilitarian and consequentialist so enough said, and the hat tips to sustainability can be skipped in chapters 7 and 8.

@drrituraman on X and on the Futures podcast is a wonderful companion to the book.

[Tonu Pius · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read some of Ritu Raman's publications for the first time this past year so I had been dying to read her book! It may be just the fact that I'm just in awe at how brilliant she is but this flowed so well for being so informational. [I actually finished it in one night!]

My favorite chapter was "Organs-on-a-chip" and her well-placed diagrams made it easy to comprehend complex material. Her chapter on ethics sparked some inner dialogue in myself as well which just made me more eager to see her progress in developing this technology in the future!

[Grace Link · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gave a nice overview of some of the key advancements in biotechnology to date. However, I found it to be a relatively boring read with little theoretical or philosophical input, which I was hoping for.

[keycarded · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty cool! learned a lot of new things and the way new info was presented was really easy to digest (saying this as someone with minimal biochem background). do think it could have been placed better but i know it’s not an adventure story or anything lol. nice

[Oren Mizrahi · Rating 3 out of 5]

fascinating

[orna · Rating 5 out of 5]

so interesting
will add thoughts later