Researchers use 3D cell cultures in the lab to study complex structures like blood vessels. However, getting the cells to assemble into tissues as they do in the body is a complex and not well-understood process. Cell biologists and biomedical engineers like Lew Romer and David Gracias are tackling this challenge by studying how these cells respond to their environment. In a recent study, Gracias and Romer discovered that cells in 3D culture can be coaxed into the correct formation by changing the ‘geography’ of their environment. By manipulating the structure and the stiffness of the 3D culture, Romer and Gracias shows that these cells can be organized into specific formations, or words, as in the image shown here.

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