Bioprinting

Calcium carbonate is an impressive material, in that it combines strength, light weight and porosity. Scientists have devised a new bacteria-based method of 3D-printing the substance, for uses such as bone repair and coral reef restoration.

Scientists have created “acoustic holograms” that can assemble matter into 3D objects, using just sound. The technique works with various types of particles and even living cells, allowing for a new kind of 3D printing that’s fast and contact-free.

The University of Alberta has developed a new technique for 3D printing cartilage in custom shapes. This can be used to repair the noses of skin cancer patients, saving them the trouble of having cartilage samples taken from other parts of the body.

Space travel is conducive to injuries. Now researchers from Dresden Technical University (TUD) have developed a 3D bioprinting method for use in space, creating new skin and bone tissue out of resources that might be available to astronauts.

In an effort to scale up the manufacture of biomaterials, researchers at UC Berkeley have combined bioprinting, a robotic arm, and flash freezing that may one day allow living tissue and even whole organs to be printed on demand.

We recently reported on heart structures 3D-printed in a weightless environment. For the first of a regular new feature, we asked one of the company’s chief scientist what was the single biggest impediment to having lab-grown organs available right now. Here’s what he had to say.

As part of its ongoing effort to eschew animal testing, L'Oréal has teamed up with bioprinting company Organovo to develop 3D-printed skin tissue for testing of its products.

Had bioprinting been around in Vincent van Gogh's day, he would have had to do something more dramatic to express his inner torment than cutting off his ear – American startup BioBots has been demonstrating that he could have easily just 3D-printed a new one.