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Scientists 3D Print Human Heart Muscles

A human embryonic stem cell line derived at Stanford University. (REUTERS/Julie Baker/Stanford University School of Medicine/California Institute for Regenerative Medicine/Handout)
A human embryonic stem cell line derived at Stanford University. (REUTERS/Julie Baker/Stanford University School of Medicine/California Institute for Regenerative Medicine/Handout)
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Scientists 3D Print Human Heart Muscles

A human embryonic stem cell line derived at Stanford University. (REUTERS/Julie Baker/Stanford University School of Medicine/California Institute for Regenerative Medicine/Handout)
A human embryonic stem cell line derived at Stanford University. (REUTERS/Julie Baker/Stanford University School of Medicine/California Institute for Regenerative Medicine/Handout)

Heart diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States killing more than 600,000 people a year. A team of researchers at the University of Minnesota has 3D printed a functioning human heart pump in the lab, which could help save the lives of thousands of patients.

According to the Science Daily website, the researchers used a type of stem cells with the potential to develop into any type of cell in the body, in addition to a mix of proteins, and the printer's ink.

The heart muscle model is about 1.5 centimeters long and was specifically designed to fit into the abdominal cavity of a mouse for further study, the German News Agency reported.

The team said the new muscle can be used to study the functions of the heart, and the problems that might affect it.

Brenda Ogle from the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the University of Minnesota College, said this is a critical advance in heart research because this new study shows how we were able to 3D print heart muscle cells in a way that the cells could organize and work together.

"We now have a model to track and trace what is happening at the cell and molecular level. We can introduce disease and damage into the model and then study the effects of medicines and other therapeutics," she explained.

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Rain Checks Spread of Japan Wildfire 

This photo taken and released on March 6, 2025 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency shows firefighters walking amongst burnt trees as they battle a wildfire in Ofunato city of Iwate Prefecture. (Handout / Fire and Disaster Management Agency / AFP)
This photo taken and released on March 6, 2025 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency shows firefighters walking amongst burnt trees as they battle a wildfire in Ofunato city of Iwate Prefecture. (Handout / Fire and Disaster Management Agency / AFP)
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Rain Checks Spread of Japan Wildfire 

This photo taken and released on March 6, 2025 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency shows firefighters walking amongst burnt trees as they battle a wildfire in Ofunato city of Iwate Prefecture. (Handout / Fire and Disaster Management Agency / AFP)
This photo taken and released on March 6, 2025 by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency shows firefighters walking amongst burnt trees as they battle a wildfire in Ofunato city of Iwate Prefecture. (Handout / Fire and Disaster Management Agency / AFP)

Rain appears to have halted the spread of Japan's worst wildfire in more than half a century, officials said Thursday, as residents expressed relief the smoke was gone.

The blaze had raged around the northern city of Ofunato for more than a week, killing one person and forcing more than 4,500 residents to evacuate their homes.

The rain, which began falling Wednesday following a record dry period, had helped firefighting efforts, a local fire official said.

"Thanks in part to the rain, the situation has subsided to an extent," Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami told a regular briefing.

"We realize many residents are aching to return home," he said, adding that evacuation orders would be lifted when safety was confirmed.

Several columns of white smoke and fire sources persisted during the day, officials said.

"The fires haven't been fully put out yet," another Ofunato official told the briefing.

Residents were more positive, however.

"I'm relieved to see no smoke", one elderly woman told public broadcaster NHK, while a man said he was "very happy that we had rain yesterday".

The wildfire burned about 2,900 hectares (7,170 acres) -- around half the size of Manhattan -- making it Japan's largest in more than 50 years, surpassing the 2,700 hectares engulfed by a 1975 fire on Hokkaido island.

Japan endured its hottest summer on record last year as climate change pushes up temperatures worldwide.

Then in February, Ofunato received just 2.5 millimeters (0.1 inches) of rainfall -- breaking the previous record low for the month of 4.4 millimeters in 1967 and well below the average of 41 millimeters.

At least 78 buildings are believed to have been damaged, although details are still being assessed, according to the fire agency.

The number of wildfires in Japan has declined since a 1970s peak.

However, there were about 1,300 in 2023, concentrated in the period from February to April when the air dries out and winds pick up.

Greg Mullins, a former fire and rescue commissioner for the Australian state of New South Wales, told AFP this fire as well as the recent ones in Los Angeles were "highly unusual" because they took place in the cooler winter months.

"In both cases the fires were preceded by hot summers, which increased evaporation and drying of vegetation, followed by large rainfall deficits that parched the landscape," he said.

"This is a common by-product of climate change," said Mullins, a founder of the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group.