Bioprinting is an emerging additive manufacturing approach that takes biomaterials such as hydrogels and combines them with cells and growth factors, which are then printed to create tissue-like structures that imitate natural tissues. One application of this technology could be designing patient-specific bone grafts, especially that managing bone defects and injuries through traditional treatments tends to be slow and expensive, reported the German News Agency. A group of scientists led by Professor Akhilesh K. Gaharwar from the bioengineering department at the Texas A&M Health Science Center has developed a nanoengineered type of ink known as NICE bioinks, which provide more support for bone tissues, and thus, can be turned into scaffolds that enhance broken bones. This technique allows producing different human tissues including ears, blood vessels, cartilage and even bone segments. According to the researchers, almost 5 percent of these printed scaffolds consisted of calcium, which is similar to the bone tissues found in vertebral bones. The Science Daily website cited Gaharwar saying "Now, we are able to produce bone tissues that replace traditional bones in people who suffer from fractures, skull deformations, and jawbone problems."