We know 3D printers build solid objects. But they also build liquid objects now, thanks to a research team at the University of Oxford. Watch this video as microscopic water-filled, lipid-coated droplets pop from a 3D printer’s nozzles and stick to one another to form patterned structures.

The researchers envision the clusters’ use in future tissue engineering. They also demonstrate the construction of a flower-like droplet network that curls into a sphere because of osmosis. This self-folding behavior, the research team contends, might be put to use in drug delivery systems someday.

For more info go to: http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/i14/Liquid-Scaffolds-3-D-Printer.html