Printing Out a Biological Machine

Not all bioengineers who are using printers in the lab are trying to create tissues or organs. Some are intent on making biological machines.

In the laboratory of Rashid Bashir, head of the bioengineering department at the University of Illinois here, researchers have made small hybrid “biobots” — part gel, part muscle cell — that can move on their own. The research may someday lead to the development of tiny devices that could travel within the body, sensing toxins and delivering medication.