"Tea, Earl Grey, hot!"

A key element of Star Trek has been the trusty replicator, always saving the crew from having to experience another one of Nelix's 'specialties'. This technology may become available very soon.

A startup from MIT and Yale states they have made a breakthrough in creating a 'next generation' material that should theoretically make it possible to 3-D print anything you can imagine.

New York-based Mattershift has been able to create large-scale carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes that are able to combine and separate individual molecules.

"This technology gives us a level of control over the material world that we've never had before," said Mattershift Founder and CEO Dr Rob McGinnis in a release. "For example, right now we're working to remove CO2 from the air and turn it into fuels. This has already been done using conventional technology, but it's been too expensive to be practical. Using our tech, I think we'll be able to produce carbon-zero gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels that are cheaper than fossil fuels."

CNTs have gone through testing in small prototypes but Science Advances states in one of its weekly journals that it holds great promise. Currently, the project is being researched in several university labs but due to its benefit of drastically lowering cost of materials.

"It should be possible to combine different types of our CNT membranes in a machine that does what molecular factories have long been predicted to do; make anything we need from basic molecular building blocks," said McGinnis. "We're talking about printing matter from the air. Imagine having one of these devices with you on Mars. You could print food, fuels, building materials, and medicines from the atmosphere and soil or recycled parts without having to transport them from Earth."

Though the technology shows great potential and in theory, should be able to accomplish some of what the replicator from Star Trek does, although not as instantaneous and simple as on the show. Matter shifts approach is more about separating and combining molecules to form new raw materials, which is why working on creating fuels is a logical place to start.

This new and radical technology may be what we use for industrial purposes in the future and, though far-fetched may eventually serve us food.

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WRITTEN BY Kirk142
EDITED BY Infinity - lewis.holt@ufplanets.com