Grown to Measure: Can 3D-Printed Wood Prevent Deforestation?
A method for growing wood-like materials with specific properties and shapes could pave the way towards 3D-printed wood and offer an alternative to industrial forestry, which has severe effects on the global climate and environment and eliminates about 10 million hectares of forest every year. The ability to make “customizable timber” in a laboratory setting would reduce waste in manufacturing and allow forests to remain untouched as a measure to mitigate climate change.
Scientists at MIT have demonstrated how “wood-like plant material” can be grown in a lab from cell cultures in a way that...
