Beware of the living… concrete?

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Out of many different, mind-boggling ideas in science, there are some that seem more obscure than others. It is hardly surprising, as their existence might be quite hard to believe and the progress may have a tough time commencing. This applies, among others, to the creation of researchers from the University of Colorado.

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My! They have created… what exactly?

A group of people, hailing from the place mentioned above, attempted to create a self-healing concrete, made, for the most part, of bacteria. The experiment resurfaced at the beginning of 2020, however, it was lost in the sea of neverending news about Covid19 and other trending topics. This “Frankenstein material” (as Wil Srubar, one of its creators, dubbed it) is capable of self-repairing, due to the process of photosynthesis, which takes place in cyanobacteria. Not only that – it can also reproduce.

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They just keep coming!

The bacteria aren’t very selective when it comes to the material they use, so there is no need to use sand or actual concrete. This makes the solution perfect for situations in which we are short on a certain material. Construction sites are usually filled many different things, leaving little space left. It could also help with that. What’s more (as I mentioned before) you can detach parts of the block in use and let it merge with the raw material. Its ability to reproduce could be incredibly useful in cases where the amount of money on our disposal is very limited.

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Still only fiction?

Needless to say, that the invention is still in its very early stages. It will probably take some time before we can experience all the benefits. It needs jello in order to be held together and drying it excessively would kill most of the bacteria. Due to that fact, it is not possible to make it as hard as concrete. Not only that but caring for bacteria is too difficult and impractical for the invention to be implemented anywhere. We can only hope it finds a niche somewhere.

Sources:

1.

Timmer, J., 2021. “Living concrete” is an interesting first step. [online] Ars Technica. Available at: <https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/01/living-concrete-is-an-interesting-first-step/> [Accessed 30 November 2021].

also source of image 1.1

2.

Timmer, J., 2021. “Living concrete” is an interesting first step. [online] Ars Technica. Available at: <https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/01/living-concrete-is-an-interesting-first-step/> [Accessed 30 November 2021].

image 1.2:

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Cyanobacteria – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria> [Accessed 30 November 2021].

image 1.3:

Artsy Pretty Plants. 2021. Choosing Mold Types For Concrete Crafts. [online] Available at: <https://artsyprettyplants.com/best-molds-for-concrete-crafts/> [Accessed 30 November 2021].

3 thoughts on “Beware of the living… concrete?

  1. 46333 says:

    It’s, obviously, very promising idea in terms of architecture business, but the question is whether it’s really useful, taking into account, how many environmental factors are needed for the special type of bacteria to develop (and develop in needed direction) and whether it’s economically favourable to create these conditions on construction?

    • 46327 says:

      You are absolutely right. If I were to express my opinion on the subject, I’d say that at this point in time it appears to be more of a source of inspiration than anything else. Still, inspirations and ideas are just as valuable, so maybe one day we’ll hear more about similar projects.

  2. Weronika Woińska says:

    Wow, that definitely looks fun! The concept of bacteria-based self-healing concrete is exciting and I’m waiting to see how will they overcome the practical limits. Perhaps even though it didn’t satisfy its given goal, they will find a new implementation for this technology that will revolutionize the world.

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