What is Bio-Ink?
Bio-ink is a material made from living cells which behaves much like a liquid, allowing people to essentially print it in order to create a desired shape. This material was developed by researchers at the University of Missouri, Columbia, with the goal of someday being able to do things like print replacements for failing organs. As of 2008, bio-ink was only in the very early stages of testing and development, but it showed immense promise. To make bio-ink, scientists create a slurry of cells which can be loaded into a cartridge and inserted into a specially designed printer, along with another cartridge which contains a gel known as bio-paper. After inputting the standards for the thing they want to print, the researchers trigger the printer, and the cartridges alternate layers to build a three dimensional structure, with the bio-paper creating a supportive matrix which the bio-ink can thrive on. Through a process which is not yet totally understood, the individual droplets of bio-ink
