Clothing that adapts to one’s needs and senses the external habitat. A lunar lava tunnel that uses bacteria, plants and fungi to create sustainable human habitats within otherwise unlivable places. Buildings grown from living things.
Clothing that adapts to one’s needs and senses the external habitat. A lunar lava tunnel that uses bacteria, plants and fungi to create sustainable human habitats within otherwise unlivable places. Buildings grown from living things.
Such inventions may define the future, as Cornell scientists work toward engineering plants and other organisms to grow into biodegradable usable forms. But first, they need to understand the basics of how cell walls control plant growth.
A new study that uses the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana takes an important early step in this direction. Bridging the fields of plant biology and mechanical engineering, the study investigated the mechanical properties of cell walls, such as how they stretch and rebound, elongate without returning to form, and thin out when stretched. The paper was published Aug. 14 in Nature Communications.
Read more at: Cornell University
