Did you hear about the lab-made ear?
Researchers from ETH Zurich, the Friedrich Miescher Institute and the Cantonal Hospital of Lucerne engineered 3D-printed human ear cartilage that retained shape and natural-like mechanical properties after six weeks in a rat model, but elastin remained underdeveloped; the team scaled cells using bioink printing and extended in vitro maturation to approach clinical-grade constructs. The study, led by Philipp Fisch in Marcy Zenobi-Wong’s Tissue Engineering and Biofabrication Group and published in Advanced Functional Materials, highlights remaining challenges in elastin networking and long-term stability for reconstructive applications such as microtia repair.
Why it mattersETH Zurich's 3D printed ear shows elastin immaturity, so fund elastin maturation work before clinical translation.