Gel-Based Method Could Simplify 3-D Printing Human Organs

A group of researchers from the University of Florida at Gainesville have created a new way of printing complex objects using granular gel.

An article explaining their research was published in the magazine Science Advances.

This system could open a path towards creating effective 3-D human organs. Traditional printing techniques for complicated organic structures tend to “collapse under their own weight before they solidify,” notes The Verge.

A key advantage of this method is that the University of Florida scientists are using an acrylic-acid based polymer that dries quickly to hold everything together during the production process.

A replica of a colleague’s brain has been made through this process along with duplicates of human-blood vessel and canine kidney cells, according to the New Scientist.

You can watch the research team’s machine in action below.