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Researchers Are Getting Closer to 3D Printing Brains

The complex structure of the brain can be replicated with a simple handheld printer.

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body, and researchers are getting closer to replicating and understanding its structure using handheld 3D printers.

Studies of the brain are often limited to two dimensional, in vitro culturing methods that fall short of capturing its function accurately at an organ or tissue level. But researchers at University of Wollongong in Australia found by feeding a bio-ink they created through a 3D printing process they could successfully replicate the brain.

The ink was created by harvesting immature cortical neurons from mice embryos and encasing them in a hydrogel of peptide-modified biopolymer, which was then fed into a handheld 3D printer. Their study found the hydrogel used allowed neurons to grow and attach fibers over distances of hundreds of microns over several days, creating a structure resembling the cerebral cortex.

Researchers said they optimized the process for a handheld, accessible printer so the technology could be used in traditional cell culturing facilities. They found the process made "complex, layered and viable 3D cell structures" that can be used to better understand brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases in the future. According to the Guardian, the researchers said they do not intend the process to be used for lab-grown parts for transplant, but rather tissue for testing drugs and studying other behavior.