this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2025
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A severed mosquito proboscis can be turned into an extremely fine nozzle for 3D printing, and this could help create replacement tissues and organs for transplants.

I've linked to a decent write-up on Tom's Hardware, but New Scientist covered it last week too.

Source paper: 3D necroprinting: Leveraging biotic material as the nozzle for 3D printing (science.org)

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[–] MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world 111 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I'm only in favor of this if the mosquito suffers mightily somewhere along the process.

[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 51 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I want it setup so the hot filament goes into its asshole and then out through the probiscus.

Now there's a mental image.

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The process does involve gaslighting and lying to their mosquito family

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago

No no. I want them to know it was me.

[–] Cybersteel@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

One almost killed me. Dengue.

[–] argarath@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

Good news! Brazil developed a single dose vaccine against dengue!! I don't know when they're going to start vaccinating, but the vaccine has been approved, it's already tested and everything!

[–] Deebster@infosec.pub 12 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I'm currently living somewhere hot enough that the little pricks are a bother all year round.

[–] Bo7a@piefed.ca 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm currently living in Canada where the ground has been hidden by snow for a month.

i was bitten by a mosquito outside yesterday.

They are getting stronger.

[–] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm currently living in Canada and we've seen two snowflakes this entire winter (they fell in October)

[–] Bo7a@piefed.ca 4 points 1 week ago

Lucky.

We have had full snow cover since mid-october here. But it has also been +3-5c most afternoons.

Although early snow often means warmer winter. And I can definitely handle the snow in QC better than the -40s I used to get in AB.

[–] jbloggs777@discuss.tchncs.de 79 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Interesting fact: You can use an elephant's trunk as a low-resolution 3D printing nozzle

[–] kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com 38 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

More interesting facts: you can use a human penis as a medium-resolution 3D printing nozzle

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

less interesting fact, my penis is a lower resolution than an elephant trunk.

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[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago

Ugh, my prostate is not going to make an entire benchy. Ow.

[–] brown567@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 week ago

This one seems about that size

[–] dellish@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yes but does it have to be dead at the time?

I'm really not sure why they felt the need to point this out in the article.

[–] crapwittyname@feddit.uk 14 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Yes, the first attempts via the more obvious approach of using a live mosquito were a lot trickier, because the techniques involved in persuading the mosquito to comply were outside of the highly-specialised knowledgebase of the team. That is, until the serendipitous moment when one particularly heavy-handed researcher accidentally killed a mosquito whilst trying to attach it to a printer. The surprise and elation that must have resulted when they realised they could use mosquito husks was, surely a sight to behold. The missing piece of the puzzle had finally fallen into place. Some might even say... by Divine Providence, perhaps?
I daresay some of the project leads were kicking themselves nonetheless: "It's so simple! Dead mosquito proboscises! Dead! Why didn't I think of that?!", etc. But I think we should go easy on them; we could all get a doctorate in the field of hindsight!
In the end, just like many discoveries before it: penicillin, safety glasses, velcro etc., this breakthrough simply owes a lot to blind chance.

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[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 58 points 1 week ago (1 children)

3D printing is not vegan anymore.

[–] GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I'd say harming mosquitoes (females only, that feed on blood) is better than vegan!

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[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 41 points 1 week ago

And here I've been throwing away all my dead mosquitoes like a sucker.

[–] veeesix@lemmy.ca 39 points 1 week ago

Necroprinting is the new Necromancer skill upgrade I’ve been waiting for.

[–] msage@programming.dev 38 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Aahhh yes, man-made horrors beyond my imagination.

[–] Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This reminds me of a post where someone hooked a dead spider up to a syringe and used it as a grabber. A spider's musculature is hydraulic so the legs would curl and uncurl as the syringe was pressed.

Definitely one of the creepier things I've casually stumbled upon.

Edit: Behold, necromancy! (time-stamped video)

I’m a fan of the flinstones timeline over the techno dystopia

[–] Lemming6969@lemmy.world 29 points 1 week ago (3 children)

There is no way this is more viable than a manufactured micro needle, nor scalable.

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 53 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Not scalable? You haven't seen my back yard in the summer time, I'm gonna be rich!!

[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

He said: I'm gonna be rich!

But all he got was an itch 🎶

[–] Chais@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Keep in mind, you can't squish them.

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

Yeah yeah, we'll figure that out, but first let's talk about that first round of VC funds, right?

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If you scaled it, it wouldn't be high-resolution anymore.

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[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

It is not. This is just yet another piece of garbage science made to get into headlines, nothing more or less.

[–] lemmyout@lemmy.zip 26 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

I like how the title specifies the mosquitos are dead. Otherwise I would have imagined a swarm of mosquitos trained to perform like some cartoon.

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 week ago

There is a 3d printer hotend called the mosquito. The company behind it is incredibly litigious. It’s why literally the entire community hates them.

[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

Probably something from The Flintstones.

[–] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

So these 3D printed things arent vegan?

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Mosquitoes are an exception to the values typically exhibited in veganism.

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Say what? Is this not exploiting an animal, or worse, creating a potential market incentive to further exploit animal bodies and life? I'm not even vegan. I know individuals have exceptions, and the philosophy is a spectrum rather than a monolith and all that, but are mosquitoes not animal life?

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago

I think they were joking.

[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 13 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Ugh. I hope that there being a use for the little bastards now doesn't make people breed them on purpose.

[–] Deebster@infosec.pub 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Have you seen the footage of scientists feeding them from their own arms? Nooope, not for all the tea in China.

If it makes you feel better, the people who stick their arms in aren’t allergic to mosquito bites. Doesn’t bother them to get bit beyond the feeling of being bit.

I mean I guess it could happen that they are just masochistic, but typically not.

[–] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

I did not have GMO mosquitos bred for a more effective proboscis escaping into the wild on my bingo card

[–] bluesheep@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

Imagine looking down and there's a mosquito printing a fucking benchy on your forearm.

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[–] orenj@lemmy.sdf.org 13 points 1 week ago

I cannot believe i've never encountered the term "necroprinting" in a scifi/scifantasy setting before

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago

Dude, that’s metal.

[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago
[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I challenged my family not to say WHAT! when reading that headline. So far, everyone's failed (including myself).

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