'Frankenstein' Material Can Self-Heal, Reproduce (sciencemag.org) 36
sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: Researchers have now created a form of concrete that not only comes from living creatures but -- given the right inputs -- can turn one brick into two, two into four, and four into eight. [...] For this project, Wil Srubar, a materials scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and his colleagues wanted to engineer life into a bulk structural material. To do so, they turned to a hearty photosynthetic cyanobacterial species in the genus Synechococcus. They mixed the cyanobacterium with sand and a hydrogel that helped retain water and nutrients. The mix provided structural support to the bacteria, which -- as they grey -- lay down calcium carbonate, similar to the way some ocean creatures create shells. When dried, the resulting material was as strong as cement-based mortar. "It looks like a Frankenstein-type material," Srubar says. "That's exactly what we're trying to create, something that stays alive." Under the right conditions, which included relatively high humidity, Srubar's living material not only survived but reproduced. After the researchers split the original brick in half and added extra sand, hydrogel, and nutrients, the cyanobacteria grew in 6 hours into two full-size bricks; after three generations (in which the researchers again split the bricks), they had eight bricks, they report today in Matter.
Just great! (Score:5, Interesting)
Now construction companies can cover a continent with buildings by placing a droplet of this AI concrete.
"Gray goo" has never merged period details with modern convenience so seamlessly, and the views from every window are truly 50 shades of gray.
Re: (Score:2)
Not yet. Besides sand, the mixture they make bricks from also contains gelatin.
I hope they'll find a suitable substitute, but for now, these bricks require animal materials, and thus the manufacturing doesn't scale well.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
for now, these bricks require animal materials
Animals produce CO2, so this will make the process CO2 negative.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The constraints look stronger than that. Since the bacteria are photosynthetic I think it can only grow at the surface.
Re: (Score:1)
I hope they'll find a suitable substitute, but for now, these bricks require animal materials, and thus the manufacturing doesn't scale well.
If not, the bricks may start looking for their own substitute. 1000 years from now the earth will become an intergalactic mystery. Totally covered in massive brick buildings and no living creatures to be found.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Totally covered in massive brick buildings and no living creatures to be found.
Except that the massive brick buildings will be living creatures.
Kind of like coral.
Re: (Score:3)
They modified bacteria to make gelatin a few years back.
I don't know if it produces CO2 to do it, or what inputs it needs.
Duplicate, currently both on front page (Score:5, Informative)
Apparently Slashdot now posts duplicates so quickly, that both stories are on the front page at the same time:
https://science.slashdot.org/s... [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:3)
I thought I was losing my mind as I already read about this on slashdot. Shame on submitter for not checking if it was a duplicate story.
Re: (Score:3)
It's not the submitter. There are frequently duplicate submissions. It's the
JOKE (Score:5, Funny)
RTFA, you have to post it with a duplicate! Tomorrow it should be posted 4 times!
Re: (Score:2)
and will it change from green to grey then?
Re: (Score:1)
I too saw that. So they grey and lay down calcium carbonate
Duplicate, currently both on front page (Score:1)
Apparently Slashdot now posts duplicates so quickly, that both stories are on the front page at the same time:
https://science.slashdot.org/s... [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Slashdot has a long and complicated relationship with dupes. If this is the first time you've seen them on the same front page, it actually means that they are getting better about preventing them.
It's not though, this has happened several times recently. I think people don't notice because the editors usually end up deleting the dupe so if you only check a few times a day you can miss it.
Re: (Score:2)
The story is growing and has become self replicating. Pretty soon it will take over the entire web site. Run for your lives!
Re: (Score:2)
Slashdot for the past few months appears like two people ("editors") working on two separate sites, except it is the same site.
You see the same story approved by msmash, and then by BeauHD, ending up in often multiple daily duplicates.
They don't communicate, they don't check the front page, they don't edit.
Can the site owners work on fixing this please?
VICTORY AT LAST! (Score:2)
https://www.wired.com/1994/07/... [wired.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Time for you to grey and lay down some calcium, buddy.
That's not Frankenstein (Score:2)
It's the Blob.
Re: (Score:2)
Or the Replicators from Stargate: SG-1. What could go wrong?
Maybe it's a good thing that there's a shortage [businessinsider.com] of sand [npr.org].
Bad for bathrooms (Score:2)
If you shower too long, the bathroom will get smaller and smaller.
OK ... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You still need raw materials (Score:1)
Dollar General has been Using it for Years (Score:1)
https://www.southernthing.com/why-are-there-so-many-dollar-generals-2641425806.html