a hypothetical question.

[Isabelle]

The cells that make up external genitalia are homologous... All they need is the "correct" scaffold to grow on. Google "decellularisation" that's all you need (and stem cells)

[Aina]

Honestly that is sorta of frightening Technology to think about.

It could do a lot of good, but could you imagine people kidnapping people on the street and selling their bodies on the black market. Waa freaks me out just thinking about it ok sorry I watch a lot of scifi stuff.

[Ms Grace]

Honestly that is sorta of frightening Technology to think about.

It could do a lot of good, but could you imagine people kidnapping people on the street and selling their bodies on the black market. Waa freaks me out just thinking about it ok sorry I watch a lot of scifi stuff.

Sci fi thrives on worst case scenarios. Where else would "teh dramaz" come from? 

[kariann330]

Sci fi thrives on worst case scenarios. Where else would "teh dramaz" come from? 

So wait!!!! You mean prepping for a robot zombie apocalypse like what i saw on tv last night is pointless.....well crap...now what am i gonna do with the Turnkey Bunker i bought today....it was 50% off cuz of black Friday lol

[Ms Grace]

Better safe than sorry!

[Aina]

Actually I have an old comic book from my Dad, I went looking for it.  The premise of the comic was very old rich people were hiring people to kidnap young healthy adults and switching bodies with them.

Still far-fetched but I wouldn't count it out if we had such technology.

Yet I like the idea of if we did have the technology, to use it it to help transgender people would be interesting. Still apart of me would rather them develop a way to change my sex so I am me but fully female me.

I had a professor once who use to say "Anything you can imagine or fathom is possible, it just we don't have the means to do it yet."

Course being me I use to argue I could fathom a four sided triangle just to cause a debate hehe...

[nikkit72]

Who's for a group buy on a medical grade 3d printer then ?? That and the collective intelligence on here, we'd be comparing CAD drawings in no time !

Seriously though, I can't see reproductive organs and associated tissues being that far away, as with a lot of medical technology, this will be accelerated by the military for body part regeneration as has been previously mentioned. The requirement for replacement reproductive organs for CIS females and breast tissue will also be a valid requirement for this tech. As trans individuals, it is entirely possible to reprogram our brains to use new or additional parts as well as find new pathways to bypass damaged old ones. The spare connectivity is already available in the spinal cord for use in the 'reprogramming' stage. We would just need to be patient and let our brain find the new pathways.

However, as with all this medical technology, we would (currently) be at the bottom of the list  . Even the HRT we use or will eventually get to use provides us with desirable side effects. We don't currently use meds that are developed specifically for us.

Anyways, in anticipation, I'm firing up Solidworks to design boobs version 1......   

[Jennygirl]

Anyways, in anticipation, I'm firing up Solidworks to design boobs version 1......   

LOL okay Rhino3D over here.. I call pelvis

[Ms Grace]

Seriously though, I can't see reproductive organs and associated tissues being that far away, as with a lot of medical technology, this will be accelerated by the military for body part regeneration as has been previously mentioned.

Taking it a step further...once they've figured out how to 3D print organs and body parts/limbs why not...a whole body! Any difference from the original would simply require a specific module. Then it's a case of working out how to transfer (not transplant) the mind and no one would ever need operations for anything anymore!

[Jennygirl]

I love where this is going

hahaha

[LizMarie]

While that would be lovely, Grace, I don't expect that in my lifetime. But I would take ovaries, even without the fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, etc. Those alone would remove the need for an external source of hormones. And besides, unless we get into serious life extension, I'm a wee bit past childbearing age.

Note: That is the one thing I wanted all my life that even as I transition now, I know I could not nor ever in the foreseeable future have - to carry and bear a child. But you know what? Some of those trans children that are 5, 6, 7 years old today? They might get that chance someday. Maybe.

[Ashey]

Taking it a step further...once they've figured out how to 3D print organs and body parts/limbs why not...a whole body! Any difference from the original would simply require a specific module. Then it's a case of working out how to transfer (not transplant) the mind and no one would ever need operations for anything anymore!

Cylons.. o.o

[SunKat]

They have already printed a penis for a rabbit that was functional. The research is being funded by us military research groups who are looking at ways to help young soldiers with injuries cause by IEDs (they often explode and damage the legs and andogenital regions) With 3d printing though, it's not tissue they print, it's a type of lattice that stem cells are encouraged to grow on, the scaffold/lattice dissolves and leaves the part.

The science is really amazing.  In addition to researching the creation of new penises for veterans, the good folks at Wake Forest Regenerative are also hard at work creating ovaries.  Here's a quote from health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/03/29/artificial-ovaries-could-potentially-deliver-hormone-therapy ...
"In this study, a team from the Institute of Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center reported that ovaries created in the lab showed sustained release of the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone."  (The work on a functioning human penis has also come a long way.)

We've also learned how to turn off entire chromosomes in the lab. So far they've focused on turning off the extra chromosome responsible for down syndrome,
( www.cbsnews.com/news/scientists-figure-out-how-to-turn-off-down-syndrome-in-laboratory ), but there has also been work done in deactivating x chromosomes and in altering the y chromosome.  Research is also showing that it is only a portion of the y chromosome that codes for male development.
( www.newscientist.com/article/dn16934-girl-with-y-chromosome-sheds-light-on-maleness.html ).

Another big area of research for 3d printers is bone replacement therapy.  While the current focus is on replacing joints and fractured bones, once it becomes common place it will only be a matter of time before someone sells vanity bone replacements.  Stronger joints for athletes, taller leg bones, wider pelvises, wider or narrower shoulders.

As to whether any of this will happen in our lifetimes...  So much has already happened in the last 50 years that nobody could have imagined.  Computers have gone from 10 GB mainframes that fill a warehouse to 128Gb computers that can fit in a watch or a camera. Genetics has gone from determining what sex your unborn child is, to DNA identification and being able to convert normal skin cells into embryonic stem cells.  And gender rights and sexual reassignment have gone from being a shameful perversion to being a right of self determination that we are fighting for 6-yr old children to have.  I have great hopes that things will change in my lifetime.

[nikkit72]

Te science really is amazing and I believe that there are wonderful things to come for us. Hopefully in the not too distant future. I am also hoping that social stigmas, bigotry and hate, do not hinder this progress for the likes of us.

[nikkit72]

Cylons.. o.o

If I could fall asleep in the bath tub and wake up with Six's body I'd be a happy girl.

[Kristal]

Actually I have an old comic book from my Dad, I went looking for it.  The premise of the comic was very old rich people were hiring people to kidnap young healthy adults and switching bodies with them.

Did you ever see "The Skeleton Key"? It had the same kind of premise, but with magic. Very creepy...

[LordKAT]

It probably wouldn't be functional because the MTF brain is not wired to use ovaries and the FTM brain is not wired to use a penis. It'd be like putting a third arm on your body. Not only would you have to send nerves and blood vessels to the area, but you would have to somehow restructure the brain to USE the parts. If it were possible to do that, many health issues would be a thing of the past, such as menopause, many thyroid issues, and mental development issues.

Sorry, but a functional vagina w/ ovaries for a MTF is probably the last thing on the list for science to accomplish =/

Then explain the phantom penis thing.

[Kristal]

Then explain the phantom penis thing.

My phantom boobs are bigger than my real boobs.

[Ms Grace]

Then explain the phantom penis thing.

That particular Star Wars movie was inexplicable and best forgotten...

...

oh, phantom penis!!!!! Sorry, I though you meant The Phantom Menace.

never mind then. 

[SunKat]

It probably wouldn't be functional because the MTF brain is not wired to use ovaries and the FTM brain is not wired to use a penis. It'd be like putting a third arm on your body. Not only would you have to send nerves and blood vessels to the area, but you would have to somehow restructure the brain to USE the parts.

Actually the wiring of the brain and body may not be a huge obstacle.  Despite everything, male and female goodies have a lot in common.  A functional example of sex change occurs in clownfish. During their male phase clownfish gonads have a mixture of mature testicular tissue and immature ovarian tissue.  When it comes time to change the ovarian tissue matures and the testicular tissue atrophies.  This mix of tissues isn't limited to clownfish.  One of the human intersex conditions involves ovo-testes.  Ovotestes are gonads containing both ovarian and testicular tissue. Same brain, nerves and blood supply but two types of gonadal tissue.

(The bigger issue here is probably the functioning of the uterus. Science is already working on ovarian and testicular grafting and xenografting to save endangered species, but I'm not aware of any research on building a replacement uterus.)

As far as penises go... One of the primary physical responses to arousal is vasocongestion.  This increased flow of of blood to the genitals occurs in both men and women.    The same response that causes the penis to become erect is also at work in the clitoris and labia. Part of the bioengineering work being done by Dr. Atala is with erectile tissue.  If the erectile tissue is taken care of then it is just a matter of altering the plumbing.

Men and Women already have similar structures and responses in place and in many respects are wired similarly, but a lot of how we work isn't strictly wiring. There are certainly nerves involved but a lot of how we function depends on the hormonal/chemical soup that is sloshing around our bodies. And who doesn't like hormones.