The research is reported today in the journal Biofabrication.

In the long term, the new printing technique could pave the way for hESCs being incorporated into transplant-ready laboratory-made organs and tissues, said the researchers.

The 3D structures will also enable scientists to create more accurate human tissue models for drug testing.

Cloning technology can produce embryonic stem cells, or cells with ESC properties, containing a patient's own genetic programming.

Artificial tissue and organs made from such cells could be implanted into the patient from which they are derived without triggering a dangerous immune response.