Scientists in Wales are 3D-printing cartilage for people born without body parts or who have missing facial features due to facial scarring. Using human cells and plant based materials, the experts say they are able to print ears, noses and other parts to help with facial reconstruction. The technology would benefit those who have had facial scarring as a result of burns, cancer and other types of trauma. The Scar Free Foundation has launched a three-year £2.5 million programme of'regenerative research' into the technology based at Swansea University with the aim to progress to clinical trials involving humans. A three-year ££2.5 million research programme funded by the Scar Free Foundation and Health and Care Research Wales at Swansea University will aim to advance the development of 3D bioprinted facial cartilage According to the Scar Free Foundation, patients living with the loss of facial features have told researchers that existing plastic prostheses didn't feel'part of them' and would prefer their own tissue to be used for reconstruction.

'Forensic artists' in Scotland have reconstructed the faces of two people from Edinburgh who lived around 700 years ago. A two-person team used fragments of skulls taken from the grounds of South Leith Parish Church in the Scottish capital's north. The skull fragments were digitally scanned to create a virtual 3D copy on computer software, which the team used to reconstruct other lost parts of each skull. This skeletal reconstruction allowed the scientists to recreate facial features, like the size and shape of the nose and chin. The facial reconstructions depict a man and a woman, both aged between 35 to 50 years at time of death, possibly as early as the year 1300.

The face of a 10,000 year old African caveman has been revealed for the first time, reigniting the debate over whether the first ancient people to set foot on American soil were African or Asian. Digital imaging by Brazilian graphic designer, Cicero Moraes - who is not of African decent himself - shows the features of a 40 to 50-year-old prehistoric African man whose face resembles Australian Aborigines. The reconstruction, nicknamed Apiuna, was based on a skull discovered deep inside a cave during an archaeological dig in Lagoa Santa, south east Brazil, some 50 years ago. The discovery of the African's face controversially challenges the belief that the American continents' first pioneers were Asian. Instead, it suggests that Apiuna was part of the first wave of people in America who were Africans with Austro-Melanesian characteristics.