Ideas Spring Forth Like a Mad Johannes Gutenberg Dream

Bio-editor may very well be the next cross specialization after the astrobiologist, the geophysicist, or the stripper/french maid. Harvard University liberals have constructed the world's first bacterial printing press capable of printing out mats the width of a single bacteria.

The process begins using a borrowed computer chip technique called photolithography to create a template, onto which the press "...pours a liquid polymer. This cools, sets and is popped out, forming a stamp. This is then coated with agarose, a nutrient gel that bacteria will grow on. He pipettes solutions of bacteria onto the agarose, which sucks out the water, leaving a solid layer of bacteria." (New Scientist)

This reminds Austinist of an old Iron Man comic from the late 80's where Tony Stark talks about designing bacteria to eat up specific metals/compounds, then die/deposit the metals in patterns to make intricate designs in his armor's circuitry. Combining those two concepts could lead to interesting advancements in nanotechnology.

Perhaps this technique could also intertwine with stem cell research to print out sheets of organic film capable of repairing all sorts of physiological problems. Imagine being able to lay sheets of neurons upon areas of the brain wrecked by tumors. The possibilities are endless.

Good thing we have a forward looking administration pushing advancements such as these to the very forefront of science.