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Old fungus could be used to make plastics
Old fungus could be used to make plastics
Plus: Asteroid Ryugu samples contain organic matter older than the solar system.
Feb 27, 2023
This new research is both plastic and fantastic.
The team behind it says there’s still mush-room for improvement, but that tinder fungus may now be useful when making certain grades of plastic and shock-absorbing materials.
This is because it has been found to be not unlike plywood or leather in terms of structural strength, except that it weighs even less.
But before you take a closer look at that, consider this video. It shows something far, far away – namely, Asteroid Ryugu, where samples containing organic matter older than the solar system have been found, which is fairly out of this world.
Good morning. I’m Alice, an Editor at IE.
This is The Blueprint. Let’s dive in.
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It’s what you might call a meteoric discovery.
MUST READ
Tinder fungus, which grows on the bark of rotting beech and birch trees, has been used as a fire starter for a long time, but it may now have a new use: making plastic.
Humans have used the material to feed fires for centuries. But it recently piqued the interest of the scientific community as a replacement for certain plastics.
Researchers at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have analyzed the internal structure of the fungus, formally called Fomes fomentarius, in order to better understand its strong yet lightweight consistency.
The fungus was discovered to have a similar structural strength to plywood or leather but at a lower weight.
→ The fungus could be used to produce certain grades of plastic and some shock-absorbing materials. It has a very stiff and hard protective outer layer: a softer, spongy mid-layer, and a strong and tough inner layer, each of which could outperform a different class of man-made and natural materials.
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Robotic boots providing superhuman reflexes can help your balance. A new study shows that the key to augmenting balance is to have boots that can act faster than human reaction times.
When people slip or trip, their reactions to regain balance are far slower than some machines can act. For humans (and other animals with legs), it takes time for biological sensors to send signals to the nervous system and then turn on muscles. Robots can act much faster, using wires instead of nerves to send their signals.
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CULTURE
Over half of the studied companies in the United States have deployed OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot, according to a recent study.
And nearly half of these businesses disclosed that ChatGPT had already replaced a number of their employees, claimed the survey, which was conducted by Resumebuilder.com. It asked over 1,000 business leaders for their thoughts.
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MAIL & MUSINGS
Old fungus could soon be used to make new plastics.
Do you think using natural materials to make plastic is a viable way to reduce its environmental impact?
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
On Saturday, we asked you how long you think it will be before we see eVTOL’s being used for public transport, and 56 percent of you said 5-10 years.
56%
5-10 years
28%
Maybe in our lifetime
12%
We won’t
4%
I am unsure either way
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once.”
Terry Pratchett, British author.
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Prepared by Alice Cooke
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