Printing blobs of human embryonic stem cells is the latest step towards being able to grow organs on demand. Researchers had already used inkjet printers to print out 2D cultures of living cells. But printing blobs of cells rather than flat sheets is closer to real tissue. It is hard to print stem cells, says Wenmiao Shu at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK, because they are sensitive to manipulation. So Shu has modified a valve-based printer nozzle so it gently squirts out cells in blobs rather than a single layer.
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