For the first time, scientists have generated functional human brain tissue using a 3D printer.
Scientists printed the tissue to be less than 0.01 inch (0.02 centimeter) thick, and it contains both nerve cells and supporting cells called glia. All of these cells can communicate with one another and form networks, as they would in a real human brain.
The tissue was created using a biological “printer” that churned out stem-cell-laden gel in horizontal layers. The stem cells were then coaxed to become brain cells with chemicals that stimulate this development. The tissue layers were carefully stacked, one by one, on a lab dish to form a complete tissue model.
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