This mad scientist makes ears out of apples

I've got a confession,

I love looking through people's garbage.

Now, it's not some creepy thing.

I'm usually just looking for old
electronics,

stuff I can take to my workshop
and hack.

I do have a fetish for CD-ROM drives.

Each one has three different motors,

so now you can build things that move.

There's switches so you can
turn things on and off.

There's even a freaking laser,

so you can make a cool robot
into an awesome robot.

I've built a lot of stuff
out of garbage

and some of these things
have even been kind of useful.

But here's the thing,

for me, garbage is just
a chance to play,

to be creative and build things
that amuse myself.

This is what I love doing,

so I just made it a part
of my day job.

I lead a university-based
biological research lab

where we value curiosity and exploration
above all else,

We aren't focused on any
particular problem

and we're not trying to solve
any particular disease.

This is just a place where people
can come

and ask fascinating questions
and find answers.

And I realized a long time ago

that if I challenge people
to build the equipment they need

out of the garbage I find,

it's a great way to foster
creativity.

And what happened was that artists
and scientists

from around the world started
coming to my lab.

And it's not just because
we valube unconventional ideas,

it's because we test and validate them
with scientific rigor.

So one day I was hacking something,
I was taking it apart

and I had this sudden idea.

Could I treat biology like hardware?

Could I dismantle a biological system,

mix and match the parts,

and then put them back together
in some new and creative way?

My lab started working on this

and I want to show you the result.

Can any of you guys tell me
what fruit this is?

That's right -- it's an apple.

Now I actually want you to notice
as well

that this is a lot better than most apples.

And that's because
we grew human cells into it.

We took a totally innocent
Macintosh apple,

removed all the apple cells
and DNA

and then implanted human cells.

And what we're left with
after removing all the apple cells

is this cellulose scaffold.

This is the stuf that gives plants
their shape and texture.

And these little holes that you can see,

this is where all the apple cells
used to be.

So then we come along,

we implant some mammalian cells
that you can see in blue.

And what happens is that these guys
start multiplying

and they fill up this entire scaffold.

As weird as this is,

it's actually really reminiscent
of how our own tissues are organized.

And we found in our pre-clinical work

that you can implant these scaffolds
into the body

and the body will send in cells
and a blood supply

and actually keep these things alive.

This is the point when people
started asking me,

"Andrew, can you make
body parts out of apples?"

And I'm like, "You've come
to the right place."

(Laughter)

I actually brought this up
with my wife.

She's a musical instrument maker

and she does a lot of wood carving
for a living.

So I asked her, "Could you literally
carve some ears

out of an apple for us?"

And she did.

I took her ears to the lab,

we then started preparing them.

Yeah, I know.

(Laughter)

It's a good lab, man.

And then we grew cells on them,

and this is the result.

Listen, my lab is not in the
ear manufacturing business.

People have actually been
working on this for decades.

Here's the issue:

Commercial scaffolds can be
really expensive and problematic

because they're sourced from
proprietary products,

animals, or cadavers.

We used an apple and it cost pennies.

What's also really cool here is that
it's not that hard to make these things.

The equipment you need
can be built from garbage

and the key processing step
only requires soap and water.

So what we did is put all
the instructions online as open source.

And then we founded
a mission-driven company

and we're developing kits
to make it easier

for anyone with a sink
and a soldering iron

to make these things at home.

What I'm actually really curious about
is if one day,

it will be possible to repair, rebuild
and augment our own bodies

with stuff we make in the kitchen.

Speaking of kitchens,

here's some asparagus.

They're tasty and they make
your pee smell funny.

Now, I was in my kitchen
and I was noticing

that when you look down
the stalks of these asparagus,

what you can see are all
these tiny little vessels.

And when we image them in the lab,

you can see how these cellulose
forms these strucutres.

This image reminds me of two things:

our blood vessels and the structure
and organization

of our nerves and spinal cord.

So here's the question:

Can we grow axons and neurons
down these channels?

Because if we can,

then maybe we can use asparagus
to form new connections

between the ends of damaged
and severed nerves?

Or maybe even a spinal cord.

Don't get me wrong,

this is exceptionally challenging

and really hard work to do

and we are not the only ones
working on this.

But we are the only ones
using an asparagus.

(Laughter)

And right now, we've got
really promising pilot data

and we're working with tissue engineers
and neurosurgeons

to find out what's actually possible.

So listen, all of the work I've shown you,

the stuff that I've built that's
all around me on this stage

and the other projects my lab
is involved in

are all a direct result of me
playing with your garvage.

Play, play is a key part
of my scientific practice.

It's how I train my mind to be
unconventional and to be creative

and to decide to make human-apple ears.

So, the next time any of you
are looking

at some old, broken down,
malfunctioning, piece of crap technology,

I want you to think of me,

because I want it.

Seriously, please find any way
to get in touch with me,

and let's see what we can build.

Thank you.

(Applause)