Submit your question here, and we might answer it an upcoming issue of Science News Explores

3-D printing: The creation of a three-dimensional object with a machine that follows instructions from a computer program. The computer tells the printer where to lay down successive layers of some raw material, which can be plastic, metals, food or even living cells. 3-D printing is also called additive manufacturing.

application: A particular use or function of something.

artificial intelligence: A type of knowledge-based decision-making exhibited by machines or computers. The term also refers to the field of study in which scientists try to create machines or computer software capable of intelligent behavior.

blood vessel: A tubular structure that carries blood through the tissues and organs.

cartilage: (adj. cartilaginous) A type of strong connective tissue often found in joints, the nose and ear. In certain primitive fishes, such as sharks and rays, cartilage provides an internal structure — or skeleton — for their bodies.

cell: (in biology) The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the unaided eye, it consists of a watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Depending on their size, animals are made of anywhere from thousands to trillions of cells.

collagen: A fibrous protein found in bones, cartilage, tendons and other connective tissues.

concentration: (in chemistry) A measurement of how much of one substance has been dissolved into another.

core: Something — usually round-shaped — in the center of an object.

cornea: The transparent front section of the eye. The shape of the cornea allows our eyes to bring objects at many distances into focus.

diffuse: (as adj.) To be spread out thinly over a great area; not concise or concentrated. (v) To spread light or to broadly release some substance through a liquid (such as water or air) or through some surface (such as a membrane).

diffusion: The process of spreading out thinly over a great area. It can involve the release or movement of light or some substance through a liquid (such as water or air) or through some surface (such as a membrane). Or it can refer to the spreading out of other things, such as ideas throughout a society.

dissolve: To turn a solid into a liquid and disperse it into that starting liquid. (For instance, sugar or salt crystals, which are solids, will dissolve into water. Now the crystals are gone and the solution is a fully dispersed mix of the liquid form of the sugar or salt in water.)

engineer: A person who uses science and math to solve problems. As a verb, to engineer means to design a device, material or process that will solve some problem or unmet need.

environment: The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature and humidity (or even the placement of things in the vicinity of an item of interest).

extrude: (n. extrusion) To push or otherwise force some liquid or viscous material through a tiny opening to create a desired shape that often will eventually harden into a permanent structure.

fibroblast: A type of cell found in connective tissue; it makes and releases proteins important in wound healing.

filament: Something with a thin, thread-like shape. For instance, the fragile metal wire that heats up to emit light inside an incandescent light bulb is known as its filament.

gel: A gooey or viscous material that can flow like a thick liquid.

host: (in biology and medicine) The organism (or environment) in which some other thing resides. Humans may be a temporary host for food-poisoning germs or other infective agents. (v.) The act of providing a home or environment for something. A website, for instance, could host photos, news or other types of information.

hydrogel: A “smart” polymer-based material that can change its structure in response to its environment, such as the local temperature, pH, salt or water concentration. The polymers that make up a hydrogel have water-attracting ends sticking out. Those ends help hydrogels latch onto molecules of water. Some hydrogels are used in baby diapers to hold urine. Others are added to potting soils to hold water near to plants until they need it. Still others may be part of wound dressings to prevent a sore from drying out.

kidney: Each in a pair of organs in mammals that filters blood and produces urine.

laser: A device that generates an intense beam of coherent light of a single color. Lasers are used in drilling and cutting, alignment and guidance, in data storage and in surgery.

link: A connection between two people or things.

matrix: (pl. matrices) The background material in which something else is embedded. Or the basic material from which something else takes form or is developed, molded or fashioned.

mature: (adj.) Connoting an adult individual or full-grown and fully developed (non-juvenile) form of something. (verb) To develop toward — or into — a more complex and full-grown form of something, be it a living thing, a technology or an idea.

mineral: Crystal-forming substances that make up rock, such as quartz, apatite or various carbonates. Most rocks contain several different minerals mishmashed together. A mineral usually is solid and stable at room temperatures and has a specific formula, or recipe (with atoms occurring in certain proportions) and a specific crystalline structure (meaning that its atoms are organized in regular three-dimensional patterns). (in physiology) The same chemicals that are needed by the body to make and feed tissues to maintain health.

model: A simulation of a real-world event (usually using a computer) that has been developed to predict one or more likely outcomes. Or an individual that is meant to display how something would work in or look on others.

molecule: A group of atoms that represents the smallest possible amount of a chemical compound. Molecules can be made of single types of atoms or of different types. For example, the oxygen in air is made of two bound oxygen atoms (O₂). Water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H₂O).

network: A group of interconnected people or things. (v.) The act of connecting with other people who work in a given area or do similar things (such as artists, business leaders or medical-support groups), often by going to gatherings where such people would be expected, and then chatting them up. (n. networking)

nozzle: A round spout or slot at the end of a pipe, hose or tube. Nozzles are typically used to control the flow of a jet of some high-pressure liquid or gas.

nutrient: A vitamin, mineral, fat, carbohydrate or protein that a plant, animal or other organism requires as part of its food in order to survive.

organ: (in biology) Various parts of an organism that perform one or more particular functions. For instance, an ovary is an organ that makes eggs, the brain is an organ that makes sense of nerve signals and a plant’s roots are organs that take in nutrients and moisture.

oxygen: A gas that makes up about 21 percent of Earth's atmosphere. All animals and many microorganisms need oxygen to fuel their growth (and metabolism).

plastic: Any of a series of materials that are easily deformable; or synthetic materials that have been made from polymers (long strings of some building-block molecule) that tend to be lightweight, inexpensive and resistant to degradation. (adj.) A material that is able to adapt by changing shape or possibly even changing its function.

prospect: (n.) The vista (as in what’s in view) or the future of something (such as whether it’s going to be successful).

protein: A compound made from one or more long chains of amino acids. Proteins are an essential part of all living organisms. They form the basis of living cells, muscle and tissues; they also do the work inside of cells. Antibodies, hemoglobin and enzymes are all examples of proteins. Medicines frequently work by latching onto proteins.

prototype: A first or early model of some device, system or product that still needs to be perfected.

resin: A sticky, sometimes aromatic substance, often secreted by plants. It may also be the viscous starting ingredient for some plastics that will harden when heated or treated with light.

robot: A machine that can sense its environment, process information and respond with specific actions. Some robots can act without any human input, while others are guided by a human.

rocket: Something propelled into the air or through space, sometimes as a weapon of war. A rocket usually is lofted by the release of exhaust gases as some fuel burns. (v.) Something that flings into space at high speed as if fueled by combustion.

scaffold: A framework erected to temporarily support      something, such as people putting siding onto the exterior of a building. (in medicine) A structure implanted into the body to support tissues as they heal or grow.

science fiction: A field of literary or filmed stories that take place against a backdrop of fantasy, usually based on speculations about how science and engineering will direct developments in the distant future. The plots in many of these stories focus on space travel, exaggerated changes attributed to evolution or life in (or on) alien worlds.

strategy: A thoughtful and clever plan for achieving some difficult or challenging goal.

stress: (in biology) A factor — such as unusual temperatures, movements, moisture or pollution — that affects the health of a species or ecosystem. (in psychology) A mental, physical, emotional or behavioral reaction to an event or circumstance (stressor) that disturbs a person or animal’s usual state of being or places increased demands on a person or animal; psychological stress can be either positive or negative. (in physics) Pressure or tension exerted on a material object.

suffocate: To be unable to breathe, or to cause a person or other organism to be unable to breathe.

system: A network of parts that together work to achieve some function. For instance, the blood, vessels and heart are primary components of the human body's circulatory system. Similarly, trains, platforms, tracks, roadway signals and overpasses are among the potential components of a nation's railway system. System can even be applied to the processes or ideas that are part of some method or ordered set of procedures for getting a task done.

tissue: Made of cells, it is any of the distinct types of materials that make up animals, plants or fungi. Cells within a tissue work as a unit to perform a particular function in living organisms. Different organs of the human body, for instance, often are made from many different types of tissues.

News announcement: Precise Bio Inc.  Precise Bio achieves world’s first 3D-bio-printed corneal implant. November 19, 2025. 

Journal: S. Florczak et al. Adaptive and context-aware volumetric printing. Nature. Vol. 645, September 3, 2025, p. 108. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09436-7.

Journal: J. Son, S. Li and W. Jeong. Bioprinting vascularized constructs for clinical relevance: Engineering hydrogel systems for biological maturity. Gels. Vol. 11, August 12, 2025, p. 636. doi: 10.3390/gels11080636.

Journal: L. Jing et al. The sculpting tool in bioprinting: research and application progress of sacrificial inks. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. Vol. 13, June 24, 2025. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1486459.

News announcement: Office for Health and Medical Research. Novel 3D bioprinting device prints skin-growing ink from patient cells in world-first clinical trials. Government of New South Wales, Australia. May 15, 2025.

Journal: T.A.M. Andrade et al. 3D bioprinting a novel skin co-culture model using human keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A. Vol. 113, January 2025. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.37831.

Journal: A Pramanick et al. 4D bioprinting shape-morphing tissues in granular support hydrogels: Sculpting structure and guiding maturation. Advanced Functional Materials. Vol. 35, January 29, 2025. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202414559.

Journal: M. Kim et al. One-year results of ear reconstruction with 3D printed implants. Yonsei Medical Journal. Vol. 65, August 2024, p. 456. doi: 10.3349/ymj.2023.0444.

Journal: Y. Hao et al. The first 3D-bioprinted personalized active bone to repair bone defects: A case report. International Journal of Bioprinting. Vol. 9, December 22, 2022, p. 654. doi: 10.18063/ijb.v9i2.654.

News announcement: D. Nutt. Cornellian-founded company implants 3D-bioprinted ear. Cornell Chronicle. June 2, 2022.

Journal: J. Li et al. Recent advances in bioprinting techniques: approaches, applications and future prospects. Journal of Translational Medicine. Vol. 14, September 20, 2016. doi: 10.1186/s12967-016-1028-0.