The app provides you with guides, quoins and magnets to lock elements and letters in place during the printing process.

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The next step is to use a patient's own cells in the 3-D printing process.

WSJ: Scientists use 3-D printing to help grow an ear

Still in its early prototype stages, the device is an attempt to do for 3D scanning what the Replicator and its ilk have done for printing -- i.e. democratize the process in such a way that makes it affordable and user-friendly enough to make it an appealing prospect for hobbyists and later consumers.

ENGADGET

According to Gregory Gratson, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the printing process is quite benign, so living cells grown in culture should be able to survive it.

ECONOMIST: MONITOR

Interestingly, Japan has embarked on a massive money printing scheme and has compromised the independence of its central bank in the process.

FORBES: When Push Comes to Shove, Central Banks Print

Travellers should also consider printing out boarding passes ahead of time to speed up the check-in process, and should remember the rules about packing liquids and electronics in carry-on and hand luggage.

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In a process similar to printing a photograph, engineers beam high-powered light through a masklike image of the chip, thus creating a duplicate on a silicon wafer.

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