Using cells in a dish to create a matrix and heal injuries
Our bodies are not just living cells stuck between other living cells. Tissue and organs are made not just of cells, but of a matrix of fibers, proteins, and small molecules that living cells secrete and live in. This material is called the extracellular matrix, which gives structure to our bodies and a pathway for cells to communicate with each other. When the cells are washed away, the extracellular matrix, or ECM, remains, and can be used as a material…