I decided it was time for one of those Makeovers. Literally. Tired of the goofy-looking face I see in the mirror every morning, I ordered a new one – Brad Pitt’s – using a revolutionary, technological marvel called a Bioprinter. After all, it’s Christmas!

The Bioprinter is being developed at University of Missouri-Columbia as part of the Frontiers of Integrative Biological Research Program, supported by the National Science Foundation. Its purpose is to further advance our understanding of self-assembly during the organization of cells and tissues into functional organ modules. In other words, to create organs, body parts, using bioprinting technology, which operates with bioink particles of cells to assemble an anatomical organ bit by bit until it is whole. Think of an inkjet printer producing an illustration of a heart; now think of it as real, three dimensional, and fully functioning.

Here is an illustration of the Bioprinter:

So I had an idea: skin is the largest of human organs, fully replicable tissue. Why not map Brad Pitt’s face and then do a martini cocktail mix of his and mine, letting the Bioprinter create the final result!

So, here is my goofy face getting mapped by the Bioprinter:

Here is Brad Pitt’s getting mapped on the Bioprinter:

And here is the resulting masterpiece, the blend of Daedalus and Brad Pitt, which we will now call, Bradalus!

I like it! Cool, yes?

All I can say now is, Merry Christmas, Mrs. Daedalus!!! [or should I say, Merry Christmas, Mrs. Bradalus!!!]

And maybe even Merry Christmas, Angelina Jolie!!! [Hey, who knows? An improvement is an improvement. Could be…]