In order to 3D-print really intricate items, you need a really fine print nozzle. Scientists have discovered that instead of going to the time and trouble of building one, you can simply repurpose a mosquito's existing blood-sucking proboscis.

In order to 3D-print really intricate items, you need a really fine print nozzle. Scientists have discovered that instead of going to the time and trouble of building one, you can simply repurpose a mosquito’s existing blood-sucking proboscis.

  • floofloof@lemmy.caEnglish
    10·
    7 hours ago

    For their study, the researchers obtained euthanized laboratory-reared female Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, stored them in a freezer, then dipped them in a solution of 80% ethanol to sterilize them.

    Next, the soft protective outer sheath of each insect’s proboscis was detached and discarded. An ultraviolet-curable resin was then applied to the now-exposed rigid section of the proboscis, and hardened by exposure to UV light. The resin-coated proboscis was then cut off of the mosquito’s body with a razor blade, forming a nice little rigid tube.

    I can’t see this process scaling very well.