Op-Ed: Betting on Better Organs

December 4, 2007

A row of fog-colored jars runs neatly along the edge of a black-topped table. Inside each, a white sphere, roughly the size of your fist, floats. Black screws surround the lids, from which a series of clear, plastic tubing reaches out, unattached to anything on the other end.

It’s a scene I can look at only through a large, antiseptic glass pane. If I stand directly in front of a set of nearby double doors, a cool blast of air hits my feet – a sign that the biomanufacturing facility’s intricate air circulation system is working. The breeze I feel is the air that once surrounded those jars, which is exhaling out of their sterile area and into mine. The ceiling above my head is lined with rectangular grids, humming monotonously as they, too, filter particles out of the air. (The Scientist)