A new living substance can transform from a wet sand mixture into a solid brick, and even help to reproduce copies of itself. From a report: Researchers from the University of Colorado, Boulder, used a type of photosynthetic bacteria that absorbs carbon dioxide, sunlight, and nutrients and produces calcium carbonate — a rigid compound found in rocks, pearls, and seashells. They…
Tag: Living
Nearly barren Icelandic landscapes guide search for extraterrestrial life
New research on microbial lifeforms living in nearly barren volcanic landscapes in Iceland may help scientists understand how best to search for life on other planets. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-01-barren-icelandic-landscapes-extraterrestrial-life.html…
Mozilla Lays Off 70 As It Waits For New Products To Generate Revenue
According to TechCrunch, Mozilla has laid off about 70 employees today. From the report: In an internal memo, Mozilla chairwoman and interim CEO Mitchell Baker specifically mentions the slow rollout of the organization’s new revenue-generating products as the reason for why it needed to take this decision. The overall number may still be higher, though, as Mozilla is still looking into…
Living ‘concrete’ made from bacteria used to create replicating bricks
Buildings may one day be made using a strain of bacteria that creates a concrete-like material when combined with sand and nutrients Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2230263-living-concrete-made-from-bacteria-used-to-create-replicating-bricks/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
World’s First ‘Living Machine’ Created Using Frog Cells and Artificial Intelligence
Scientists used computer algorithms to “evolve” an organism that’s made of 100% frog DNA — but it isn’t a frog. Source: https://www.livescience.com/frogbots-living-robots.html
Scientists reveal world’s first ‘living’ robots
Researchers have succeeded in creating robots that are made from live animal cells instead of metal and plastic. This remarkable development comes cou… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/333757/scientists-reveal-worlds-first-living-robots…
Scientists Use Stems Cells From Frogs To Build First Living Robots
Cy Guy writes: Having not learned the lessons of Jurassic Park and the Terminator, scientists from the University of Vermont and Tufts have created “reconfigurable organisms” using stem cells from frogs. But don’t worry, the research was funded by the Department of Defense, so I’m sure nothing could possibly go wrong this time. “The robots, which are less than 1mm long,…
Thoughts on Our Possible Future Without Work
There’s a new book called A World Without Work by economics scholar/former government policy adviser Daniel Susskind. The Guardian succinctly summarizes its prognostications for the future: It used to be argued that workers who lost their low-skilled jobs should retrain for more challenging roles, but what happens when the robots, or drones, or driverless cars, come for those as well? Predictions…
Plants are growing higher up Mount Everest as the climate warms
There are more plants living high on the slopes of the Himalayas than there were 25 years ago – and the new vegetation could affect the flow of vital rivers Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2229618-plants-are-growing-higher-up-mount-everest-as-the-climate-warms/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Finnish Scientists Produce a Protein Made ‘From Thin Air’
New submitter SysEngineer shares a report from HuffPost: A new protein made from air, water and renewable electricity could revolutionize our food system within the next decade. Developed by the Finnish company Solar Foods in a lab just outside Helsinki, the protein — called Solein — is made using living microbes that are then grown in a fermenter in a process…