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This Tiny Elephant Could Transform Biology!

2025-08-12 Science & Technology
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Anton Petrov
Anton Petrov
1.6m subscribers

3D Printing Functional Microstructures Directly Inside Living Cells

Discover the groundbreaking technique allowing scientists to 3D print complex, functional objects—like a tiny elephant—directly inside living cells. This breakthrough shifts biology from passive observation to active internal engineering.

Short Summary

  • [00:05:20] Demonstrated the first successful fabrication of a custom 3D structure inside a living HeLa cell using Two-Photon Polymerization (TPP).
  • [00:06:14] Successfully printed functional tracking markers (61-bit barcodes) and explored manufacturing active optical micro-lasers within the cellular interior.
  • [00:10:54] Established a promising pathway for ultra-targeted drug delivery by positioning therapeutic payloads with exact size, shape, and location requirements.

This video analyzes revolutionary research from a university in Slovenia that merges microtechnology with biology. It details the TPP method, the critical photoresist selection that enabled biocompatibility, and the immense therapeutic potential unlocked by engineering cells from the inside out.

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Description

Support this channel on Patreon to help me make this a full time job: https://www.patreon.com/whatdamath (Unreleased videos, extra footage, DMs, no ads) Alternatively, PayPal donations can be sent here: http://paypal.me/whatdamath Get a Wonderful Person Tee: https://teespring.com/stores/whatdamath More cool designs are on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QFIrFX Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about a 3d printed elephant...inside a cell! Links: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.13232 #3dprinting #elephant #biology 0:00 3D printed elephant inside a cell 1:10 Methods used here: TPP - two photon polymerization 2:50 Previous attempts and how it's different now 3:40 Methods and exact steps 5:40 Major breakthroughs and why this matters 7:08 Were cells still alive? 8:30 Was the object useful and printed well? 9:30 Why this matters and what this can help us with 11:00 Conclusions Enjoy and please subscribe Bitcoin/Ethereum to spare? Donate them here to help this channel grow! bc1qnkl3nk0zt7w0xzrgur9pnkcduj7a3xxllcn7d4 or ETH: 0x60f088B10b03115405d313f964BeA93eF0Bd3DbF Thank you to all Patreon supporters of this channel Special thanks also goes to all the wonderful supporters of the channel through YouTube Memberships Licenses used: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ and relevant Creative Commons licenses

Top Comments (10)

@NightRunner417 2025-08-12

Mitochondria: "Can we talk about the elephant in the room now?" I suppose the next goal will be an elephant inside the mitochondria.

694 28 replies
@agecoochek-bo2qr 2025-08-12

That has to be a Cellephant!😂

549 27 replies
@jasonlow6943 2025-08-12

That's absolutely amazing... Now all the microplastics in my brain can be cute 🥰

413 14 replies
@journeywithnichole 2025-08-12

And this is released on World Elephant Day!! August 12th! 🐘

112
@gabsrants 2025-08-12

That is actually pretty crazy - especially that the cell survived and naturally expelled all the photoresist left over.

98 9 replies
@Panic_ 2025-08-12

We got cellular tattoos now 😂

61 1 replies
@Pid75 2025-08-16

Can i get one in my brain? An elephant never forgets.

38
@Chaedron1 2025-08-13

These people 3d print an elephant in a cell and I can't even level my print bed to save my life.

27 1 replies
@screech3859 2025-08-15

We are so close to so many crazy breakthroughs.

7
@Buck_Futter_82 2025-08-15

We got nano-elephants before GTA6

7

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