Wild silkworm species Antheraea assamensis

Collagen is a common ingredient in inks for bioprinting, but in India scientists have shown the possibility and advantages of using silkworm proteins instead of collagen.  To do this, the “researchers draw liquid silk from the silkworm’s glands or dissolve silk fibers in solvents. They carefully mix the gelatinous liquid with a patient’s stem cells, then build structures layer by layer with a 3-D printer. After implantation, the cells grow and replace the silken scaffold, which eventually degenerates into amino acids.”   MORE

Image Credit:  Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati