Lasers 3-D Print A Home For Bacteria
Staphylococcus aureus Janice Haney Carr/CDC Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin are building a zoo. You can't visit its inhabitants, or look inside, but it's filled with cages where entire communities can thrive. Microscopic cages. Made out of what's basically Jell-O. Oh, and they're 3-D printed. This unusual zoo is filled with bacteria. Using a very precise laser system, microscopic protein "cages" can be constructed around bacteria in a gelatin-based solution that firms up at room temperature to study the roots of human infections. Photosensitive molecules link up to form a solid matrix trapping the bacteria inside, where their population density and proximity to other bacterial communties can be carefully controlled. “It’s very simple. We’re basically making pictures and stacking them up into 3-D structures, but with incredible control," Jason Shear, a UT Austin chemistry professor, explained. "Think about the thickness of...