Systemic Thinking About Cancer. Architecture Fiction: Rachel Amstrong, “Protocell Shoe” | Beyond The Beyond. Protocell Shoe by Dr. Rachel Armstrong The self-repairing sole is a dynamic solution to an everyday problem. The ‘proto-sole’ is suitable for all footwear ranging from mainstream consumer trainers to haute couture footwear. It consists of a fluid reservoir, like a bubble, which is situated in the heel of the shoe, where the ingredients to make the active agents ‘protocells’ are pumped by the foot and mixed on demand as they leave the storage vessel. Protocells are a form of organic hardware that is not technically ‘alive’ since they do not possess any DNA. In keeping with Stuart Kauffman’s notion of ‘order for free,’ the protocells are equipped with remarkable emergent properties such as movement, sensitivity and the production of microstructures. In the case of the proto-sole, protocells lay down repair substances that are activated by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which dissolves into the moist sole fabric.
Dr. Designed and made by MW. As Farming Gets More Efficient, We Need It To Do The Opposite. Researchers argue agriculture needs to remember its primitive roots. Today’s agriculture’s most important metric is yield: how many cows, bushels, or tons can be grown per acre. This relentless pursuit of efficiency means that U.S. farm output has risen more than 158% since 1948. That’s a good thing in many ways, and vital for feeding a growing population. It works by elevating a few winners (corn, wheat, and Hereford cows) to maximize their output at the expense of most everything else. It also happens to eliminate less efficient, but possibly irreplaceable alternatives.
We need these options, say scientists at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in a recent paper. As climate change remakes today’s farming map and the global biosphere, farmers will have to adopt new crop traits that can survive hotter, dryer, and in some cases, wetter conditions. It’s the difference between an all-or-nothing bet and keeping your options open. We’ll need both. BBC News - Chemical computer that mimics neurons to be created | science talks.
Michelle Borkin: Can astronomers help doctors? | Video on TED.com | more learning. Geoffrey West: The surprising math of cities and corporations.