Scientists in Germany from the Department of Radiology at Charité Campus Mitte in Berlin are expanding the usage of 3D printers far beyond their previous intentions: creating 3D duplicates of fossils still encased in sediment.
The technology works based off of CT scans, or computed tomography. The International Business Times reports the printed fossil heralded from a long-necked herbivore that was stored in a plaster jacket, intended to keep the specimen safe for storage in a museum basement. Based off the observations of the 3D print scientists speculate that the 3D printing technology can be used to print fossils still buried beneath the Earth's surface, without having to evasively dig them up.
E! Science quotes the study's author, Ahi Seme Issever, "The most important benefit of this method is that it is non-destructive, and the risk of harming the fossil is minimal," "Also, it is not as time-consuming as conventional preparation."
The project necessitated from a need to identify dinosaur bones that were damaged from a bombing in WWII that were encased in decaying 100 year-old plaster jackets; because of the digital blueprints Issever and her team created, their efforts have revolutionized the way paleontology will continue excavating sites.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
