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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		Using nature to bioprint a vasculature system
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:02
	Publish Date:		2016-06-26 19:00:00
	Description:		In the emerging field of 3D bioprinting, there are those who work with synthetic materials, and others who use materials that come from nature. Bioengineer Monica Moya of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has used a 3D printer and a ‘bio-ink’ made of materials compatible with the human body to create living blood vessels. "So one of our inks is made out of the same stuff that you find in a blood clot. And we intentionally do this because we are in a sense, are co-engineering with the cells. So, we’re using materials that the cells recognize and understand what they’re supposed to do. So that kind of takes the pressure off of us because then the cells are going to do the things that they already know how to do without us having to tell them, because you know, they are the original engineers of life. They already know how to build blood vessels – and so what we do is we kind of orchestrate that whole process." Their bioprinted vasculature system could be used for toxicology studies, medical treatment testing and provide a test bed for the ultimate goal in the field - printing implantable organs.
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