This is an intermediate step between microscale manufacturing (the way we build solar cells and intergrated circuits now) and molecular manufacturing (building nanoscale devices atom by atom). It looks they made a step ahead in solving the problem of the self-replicating machine, a device that could build many types of simpler devices AND an exact copy of itself. However, viruses are not true self-replicating machines, because they need a bacteria to replicate. Viruses have a controler (proteins) and blueprint (DNA or RNA), but no constructor (rybosomes).
If they can make bacteria that can assemble into solar cells, then we would be able to cover the Earth's surface with them in a few years.
Anyway, kudos to the people who did this!
EDIT: It appears that people are already utilizing bacteria as micromachines (
article)
