Engineers hack cell biology to create 3-D shapes from living tissue
Many of the complex folded shapes that form mammalian tissues can be explained with very simple instructions, bioengineers report. By patterning mechanically active mouse or human cells to thin layers of extracellular fibers, the researchers could create bowls, coils, and ripples out of living tissue. The cells collaborated mechanically through a web of these fibers to fold themselves up in predictable ways, mimicking natural developmental stages. …read more
