Nexus - 1806 - New Times Magazine-pages

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VY D © oF VEN? THE 3D PRINTING REVOLUTION Tiree dimensional (3D) printing, or “additive manufacturing", is about to transform every single aspect of our lives. Machines today can print objects out of almost any material—from nylon and glass to chocolate and itanium—and with any complex geometry. This is ransforming not just engineering but many other ields including education, archaeology, bio-printing and even food printing. Look online and you will see housands of objects ready o be printed on demand, from custom-shaped hearing aids to authentic-looking replicas of ancient cuneiform tablets. Soon, anyone will be able to make complex products quickly and cheaply—which will democratise innovation and unleash human creativity. The next stage of this journey, which we are just beginning to experience, is control over the composition of such printed matter—going beyond shaping geometry to shaping the internal structure of materials—with EU COURT OPENS DOOR TO BIOTECH LIABILITY n 6 September, the European Court of Justice paved the way for farmers and beekeepers to recoup losses when their crops or honey become contaminated from neighbouring fields o genetically modified (GM crops. The Court ruled that al food products containing GMOs—whether intentiona or not—must undergo an approval process. This marks a much stricter view than that being pushed by European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Affairs, John Dalli, who wants no regulation of foods genetically contaminated “by accident"—a ludicrous idea, given that coexistence ensures to be printed on demand, from unprecedented fidelity. custom-shaped hearing aids to The third episode of this journey authentic-looking replicas of ancient is to be able to program these cuneiform tablets. materials to function in arbitrary Soon, anyone will be able to make ways—to sense and react, to complex products quickly and compute and behave—moving from cheaply—which will democratise an object's mechanical functionality innovation and unleash human _ to controlling how it processes creativity. The next stage of this information and energy. When this journey, which we are just beginning day arrives, you will be able to print to experience, is control over the — virtually anything from a cellphone composition of such printed toa robot that will walk out of the matter—going beyond shaping _ printer, batteries included. geometry to shaping the internal (Source: New Scientist, 3 August 2011, structure of materials—with http://tinyurl.com/4y7hx3!) omerville “Hi. We’re from the Tax Department. We'll be adbucting your account books and going over them with a special probe.” genetic contamination. At the centre of the dispute is Bavarian beekeeper Karl Heinz Bablok, who joined with several others in suing the state when its research plots of Monsanto's GM corn, MON 810, contaminated his oney. In 2008, an administrative court in Germany banned Bablok from selling or giving away that honey. But in a bizarre turn, the Augsburg court also ruled that beekeepers ave no claim to protection agains he growing of GM crops. They immediately filed a new lawsuit. Discussing the new ruling, attorneys for the beekeepers noted hat they may now have "a claim for damages against a farmer if MO 810 pollen from his cultivation gets into their honey". The new ruling will also apply to "imports containing traces o material from genetically modified crops that don't have sufficien approval within the EU", they said. (Source: Activist Post, 7 September 201, http://tinyurl.com/6kgu7k8s) 6 * NEXUS OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 20I1 www.nexusmagazine.com