These are your rudimentary seed packages… Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.’ — Greg Bear, 2015.

Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer? ‘Oscar picked up a trowel. ‘I’m the tool for the mortar,’ the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.’ — Bruce Sterling, 1998.

Organic Non-Planar 3D Printing ‘It makes drawings in the air following drawings…’ — Murray Leinster, 1945.

A new artificial intelligence system pinpoints the origin of 3D printed parts down to the specific machine that made them. The technology could allow manufacturers to monitor their suppliers and manage their supply chains, detecting early problems and verifying that suppliers are following agreed upon processes.

A team of researchers led by Bill King, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has discovered that parts made by additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, carry a unique signature from the specific machine that fabricated them. This inspired the development of an AI system which detects the signature, or “fingerprint,” from a photograph of the part and identifies its origin.

“We are still amazed that this works: we can print the same part design on two identical machines –same model, same process settings, same material—and each machine leaves a unique fingerprint that the AI model can trace back to the machine,” King said. “It’s possible to determine exactly where and how something was made. You don’t have to take your supplier’s word on anything.”

Likened by its creators to an “ornate layered cake,” the Tor Alva has been completed in Switzerland. Hailed as the world’s tallest 3D-printed building, this remarkable structure rises to an impressive height of 30 m (98.5 ft).

Tor Alva (aka White Tower) is located in the small alpine village of Mulegns that’s currently home to just 11 people. It was created by researchers at ETH Zurich, in collaboration with cultural foundation Fundaziun Origen, to show off the capabilities of cutting-edge 3D-printing techniques.

Architect Michael Hansmeyer and ETH Professor of Digital Building Technologies Benjamin Dillenburger designed its actual form, which consists of an intricate structure of 32 white concrete columns that rise over four floors and taper before fanning out to top out with a dome. The interior, meanwhile, has a capacity for 32 visitors and includes stairs on each floor, with a performance space at the top.

New 3D printing technique makes it possible to heal injuries and damaged tissues from inside without surgery.

Scientists in the US have created a way to 3D print materials inside the body using ultrasound. Tests in mice and rabbits suggest the technique could deliver cancer drugs directly to organs and repair injured tissue.

Dubbed deep tissue in vivo sound printing (DISP), the method involves injecting a specialized bioink. Ingredients can vary depending on their intended function in the body, but the non-negotiables are polymer chains and crosslinking agents to assemble them into a hydrogel structure.

To keep the hydrogel from forming instantly, the crosslinking agents are locked inside lipid-based particles called liposomes, with outer shells designed to leak when heated to 41.7 °C (107.1 °F) – a few degrees above body temperature.

Researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) have developed a technique that could help advance treatments in tissue engineering. The study, published in the journal Small, introduces a technique for producing tissues with precise cellular organization designed to mimic the natural structure of human tissue.

Using a simple light-based 3D printing method, the team created microgels with controlled internal architectures. These structures help guide how cells behave and grow, mimicking the way cells naturally behave in the body.

By adjusting properties of light as it interacts with hydrogels, the team modified the internal structure of these microgels, enabling precise control of cell organization in 3D space. This breakthrough addresses a major challenge in creating realistic, functional tissue environments critical for tissue repair and regeneration.

A new bioprinter uses ultrasound to non-invasively 3D print tissues, biosensors, and medication depots deep in the body.

Researchers headed by a team at the California Institute of Technology developed an ultrasound-guided 3D printing technique that could make it possible to fabricate medical implants in vivo and deliver tailored therapies to tissues deep inside the body—all without invasive surgery. The researchers say the imaging-guided deep tissue in vivo sound printing (DISP) platform utilizes low-temperature–sensitive liposomes (LTSLs) as carriers for cross-linking agents, enabling precise, controlled in situ fabrication of biomaterials within deep tissues.

Reporting on their development in Science “Imaging-guided deep tissue in vivo sound printing”, first author Elham Davoodi, PhD, and senior, corresponding author Wei Gao, PhD, described proof of concept studies demonstrating in vivo printing within the bladders and muscles of mice, and rabbits, respectively. Gas vesicle (GV)–based ultrasound imaging integrated into the printing platform enabled real-time monitoring of the printing process and precise positioning. In their paper, the authors concluded, “DISP’s ability to print conductive, drug-loaded, cell-laden, and bioadhesive biomaterials demonstrates its versatility for diverse biomedical applications.”

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technologies offer significant promise to modern medicine by enabling the creation of customized implants, intricate medical devices, and engineered tissues, tailored to individual patients, the authors wrote. “However, the implantation of these constructs often requires invasive surgeries, limiting their utility for minimally invasive treatments.”

Imagine that doctors could precisely print miniature capsules capable of delivering cells needed for tissue repair exactly where they are needed inside a beating heart.

A team of scientists led by Caltech has taken a significant step toward that ultimate goal, having developed a method for 3D-printing polymers at specific locations deep within living animals. The technique relies on sound for localization and has already been used to print polymer capsules for selective drug delivery as well as glue-like polymers to seal internal wounds.

Previously, scientists have used infrared light to trigger polymerization, the linking of the basic units, or monomers, of polymers within living animals.

Carnegie Mellon researchers have used FRESH 3D bioprinting to create the first collagen-based microphysiologic systems, offering new hope for Type 1 diabetes treatment. Collagen is widely recognized for its role in maintaining healthy skin, but its importance extends far beyond that. As the most