Scientists 3D print fragile dinosaur fossil hidden inside a plaster block using X-rays The exact fossil copy was created using a CT scanner and 3D printer Fossils are often stored in plaster casts to protect them from damage After studying the CT scan researchers were able to trace the fossil's origin to a major dig from 1910 to 1927 Method set to be used in the future to share replicas too delicate to handle Researchers have made an exact copy of a dinosaur fossil covered in plaster - without having to crack open its protective case. The technique, which uses a CT scanner and 3D printer, could help scientists analyse fossils in casings without risking damage to it in the process. Scientists also hope the method will allow scientists to share replicas of fossils that are too delicate to be passed around. Researchers have made an exact copy, pictured right, of a dinosaur fossil covered in plaster - without having to crack open its protective case, pictured left. The technique, which uses a CT scanner and 3D printer, could help scientists analyse fossils in casings without risking damage to it in the process Researchers performed CT scans on the unidentified fossil with a 320-slice multi-detector system. The different absorption of radiation through the bone compared with the surrounding material provided a clear image of a fossilised vertebral body. The CT study also provided valuable information about the condition of the fossil, showing multiple fractures. It helped the researchers build an accurate reconstruction of the fossil with selective laser sintering - a technology that uses a high-powered laser to fuse together materials to make a 3D object. Fossils are often stored in plaster casts, or jackets, to protect them from damage. Getting information about a fossil often means breaking the plaster open, which can damage or destroy the fossil itself. German researchers studied the feasibility of using CT and 3D printers to non-destructively separate fossilised bone from its surrounding material and produce a 3D print of the bone. "The most important benefit of this method is that it is non-destructive, and the risk of harming the fossil is minimal," said Dr Ahi Sema Issever, from the Charité Campus Mitte in Berlin. Dr Issever and colleagues applied the method to an unidentified fossil from the Museum für Naturkunde, a major natural history museum in Berlin. The fossil and others like it were buried under rubble in the basement of the museum after a World War II bombing raid. Researchers performed CT scans on the unidentified fossil using a 320-slice multi-detector system. The different absorption of radiation through the bone compared with the surrounding material provided a clear image needed to make the copy, pictured But museum staff had difficulty identifying some of the plaster jackets. Researchers performed CT on the unidentified fossil with a 320-slice multi-detector system. The different absorption of radiation through the bone compared with the surrounding material provides a clear image of a fossilised vertebral body. After studying the CT scan and comparing it to old excavation drawings, the researchers were able to trace the fossil's origin to the excavation, a major dig from 1910 to 1927 in a clay pit south of Halberstadt, Germany. The fossil was buried under rubble of a German museum following a World War II bombing raid. After studying the CT scan and comparing it to old excavation drawings, pictured, the researchers were able to trace the fossil's origin to a major dig that took place between 1910 to 1927 in a clay pit south of Halberstadt Dr Issever said that the findings come at a time when advances in technology and cheaper availability of 3D printers are making them more common as a tool for research. "The digital dataset and, ultimately, reproductions of the 3D print may easily be shared, and other research facilities could thus gain valuable informational access to rare fossils, which otherwise would have been restricted," Dr Issever said. Just like Gutenberg's printing press opened the world of books to the public, digital datasets and 3D prints of fossils may now be distributed more broadly, while protecting the original intact fossil.