Microbial cellulose - Wikipedia Microbial cellulose, sometimes called bacterial cellulose, is a form of cellulose that is produced by bacteria. It is widely used in the traditional Filipino dessert Nata de coco. The earliest articles describing microbial cellulose was from 1931,[1] it was subsequently identified as cellulose in 1934.[2] Production[edit] G. xylinus extrudes glycan chains from pores into the growth medium. Differences with plant cellulose[edit] Some advantages of microbial cellulose over plant cellulose include: Finer and more intricate structureNo hemicellulose or lignin to be removedLonger fiber length: much stronger and widerCan be grown to virtually any shape and thicknessCan be produced on a variety of substratesThe formula of the media used and the strain of Acetobacter xylinum will determine the quality of the pellicleMore absorbent per unit volume Disadvantages for commercial use[edit] Some issues that have prevented large-scale commercialization so far include: Functions[edit] Uses[edit] Medical[edit]
Korstmos Korstmossen (of lichenen) zijn symbiosevormen van twee of meer verschillende "symbionten" of levensvormen. Één partner is altijd een schimmel, de zogenaamde "mycobiont". Die leeft samen met een "fycobiont", een blauwwier (Cyanobacterie) of een groenwier, of een combinatie van beide. Deze symbionten zijn soms zo sterk verbonden, dat de partners niet zonder elkaar kunnen overleven. Symbiose[bewerken] De schimmel, die de grove vorm van het korstmos bepaalt, omgeeft de algen. De algen hebben ook voordeel van de schimmel: De schimmel houdt water vast, dat afkomstig is uit de lucht (regen en mist), zodat de algen het kunnen gebruiken voor de fotosynthese.De schimmel scheidt zuren uit, dat helpt bij het opnemen van mineralen voor de algen.De schimmel ligt over de algen heen en biedt daarom bescherming tegen intensief zonlicht. Leefwijze[bewerken] Over de geslachtelijke voortplanting van korstmossen is weinig bekend, hoewel de meeste tot de Ascomycota behorende soorten apothecia kunnen vormen.
The shape of things to come: A consumer's guide to 3D printers CES 2013 proved to be something of a coming out party for consumer-facing 3D printers. Sure MakerBot earned a fair amount of attention at last year's show with the announcement of the Replicator, which snagged its share of awards from various press outlets. This year, however, saw a relative deluge in 3D-printing representation, with strong showings from 3D Systems, FormLabs, MakerBot and the cloud-based 3D printer, Sculpteo. Even with so many companies rising to prominence, the dream of truly mainstream 3D printing still feels a ways off -- if that is indeed where we're inevitably heading. These nascent days are an exciting time, with a diverse array of companies and organizations vying to be the first to bring the technology to our homes. Most of these work by melting plastic (largely Lego-like ABS or biodegradable PLA) and squirting it out through extruder heads. 3D Systems 3D Systems has been in the 3D-printing game since before the term was coined. Bits from Bytes Eventorbot Fab@Home
Phanerochaete chrysosporium, a crust fungus that can degrade phenolic resin plastics! Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for February 2007 Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for February 2007 Please click TomVolkFungi.net for the rest of Tom Volk's pages on fungi Yes I know what you're thinking. Last summer Adam Gusse, Paul Miller and I published a paper on the biodegradation of phenolic resin plastics with Phanerochaete chrysosporium. The paper, available here, was published as Gusse, Adam, Paul Miller, and Thomas J. Our paper unleashed a storm of publicity. We were soon contacted by Nature, one of the top scientific journals in the world, who published a story on our work called Fungus eats enduring plastic. We were contacted by the European Commission on the Environment, who put out a press release through Science for Environmental Policy called Fungi may be able to degrade tough plastic. Science in the News, published by American Scientist Magazine, picked up the story and published another called Fungi May Harbor Hankering for Nearly Indestructible Plastics. We even got a little write-up in the New York Times in July 2006.
Wednes-DIY: Making Natural Dyes Pin It I have been wanting to experiment with natural dyes for a while now, and with all the great new fall colors that have been popping up on our website (and featured in our monochromatic trend) I decided that it was time. This is such a fun, environmentally friendly project that takes a little time, but very little cash. For today’s DIY I’ll tell you about what natural ingredients you can use to make natural dyes, and what shades of color they will yield. What I got: red cabbage, lemons, oranges, beets, yellow onions, blackberries, blueberries, spinach. For bluish/purple dyes: Blackberries and red cabbage can be used to make bluish/purple dyes. For pinkish/red dyes: Beets and blueberries can make a really lovely dusty rose color. For copper/orange dyes: I never realized what a beautiful color yellow onions can have! For yellow dyes: Orange and lemon peels can be used to make a soft pale yellow dye. For green dyes: Finally, spinach can be used to make a beautiful shade of green. Now what?
Guest Post: Cory Doctorow for Freedom to Read Week | Blog | Raincoast Books ← Back to Blog by Dan Guest Blogger + YA Fiction / February 24, 2013 Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To mark this year's Freedom to Read Week, which starts today, we asked author Cory Doctorow to contribute a guest post on libraries and technology. Libraries, Hackspaces and E-waste: how libraries can be the hub of a young maker revolution Every discussion of libraries in the age of austerity always includes at least one blowhard who opines, "What do we need libraries for? Facepalm. The problem is that Mr. Libraries have also served as community hubs, places where the curious, the scholarly, and the intellectually excitable could gather in the company of one another, surrounded by untold information-wealth, presided over by skilled information professionals who could lend technical assistance where needed. Cory Doctorow
sciences de la vie et de la Terre - Symbiose chez les vertébrés : une salamandre chlorophyllienne ? Contexte officiel et objectifs : . Cette ressource s'intègre dans la partie 1-A2 du programme de Terminale S : " Diversification génétique et diversification des êtres vivants " et plus précisément : "Une diversification des êtres vivants est aussi possible sans modification des génomes : associations (dont symbioses) par exemple."Au travers cette approche documentaire illustrée, les objectifs sont : - de mettre en contact les élèves avec des sujets et des supports de recherche récents et actuels, - de porter la reflexion sur la diversification des êtres vivants en dehors des processus génétiques et en particulier grâce aux associations symbiotiques. - d'appréhender le phénomène de la symbiose au travers de son fonctionnement et de sa transmission. Les documents présentés pourront être utilisés dans le cadre d'une tâche complexe ou faire l'objet de QCM. Préalables : Quels sont les différents niveaux de cette association ? Quels sont les avantages mutuels de cette association ?
research - ingridnijhoff Day 01 @ De Waag Open Wetlab Amsterdam with Pieter van Bohemen & Maria Boto Ordonez Maria introduced me to the pigmented bacteria Pieter and Maria already made in the Open Wetlab. Then we started to re-plate the bacteria and brewing some new liquid nutrition. Fullscreen We are testing the following strains: Micrococcus luteus (ML DSMZ) from DSMZ color: yellow Rhodococcus coprophilus (RC) from DSMZ color: pink Janthinobacterium lividum (JL) from DSMZ color: blue Xanthomonas campestris (XC) from DSMZ color: yellow Rhizobium etli (RE) from DSMZ color: brown Vogesella indoferra (VI) from Dr. Simon Park color: dark blue Arthrobacter agilis (Aag) from Dr. Simon Park color: pink Chromobacterium violaceum (CV) from Dr. The results after one day : Maria and i are searching for a way to extract the pigment from the plates and for a growing method in liquid nutrition. 23.09.14 GETTING THE CERTIFICATE !!! 26.09.14 MAKING THE INK Finding a way to make the pigments liquid. Test 2: WHAT A NIGHT!
Smoothing 3D prints with acetone and without patent violations Austin Wilson and Neil Underwood from the North Carolina makerspace Fablocker invented a great, simple process for smoothing out 3D prints using evaporated nail-polish remover in a large jar. The process produces a beautiful finish and sidesteps a bunch of dumb patents for polishing 3D printing output. They're still experimenting with the details, and the fact that the first experiments turned out such great looking pieces is cause for excitement about where this will go when it's fully refined. ABS-based printed parts are placed in the jar with the acetone and heated to 90 degrees Celsius on the hot plate. Slick Trick Adds Much-Needed Shine to 3-D Printed Parts [Joseph Flaherty/Wired]
Une vache modifiée pour produire du lait humain Des chercheurs argentins ont greffé deux gènes de femme à une vache pour que l'animal produise des enzymes spécifiques au lait maternel humain. Une avancée prometteuse qui suscite toutefois quelques réserves. Sur les photos, Rosita ISA ressemble à une jolie génisse, dotée du pelage fauve caractéristique de sa race, les «Jersey». Dans les faits, elle est une prouesse scientifique. Pour la première fois, des scientifiques ont réussi à modifier le génome d'une vache pour lui ajouter deux gènes humains contrôlant la production d'enzymes dans le lait. Cette innovation a été réalisée en Argentine, par des chercheurs de l'Institut national de technologie agricole et de l'université de San Martin. La lactoferrine existe chez tous les mammifères et permet d'améliorer l'absorption de fer pour la fabrication des globules rouges. Nicolas Mucci affirme que le lait ainsi produit changera la donne pour les bébés en les «protégeant contre des maladies et en améliorant l'absorption de fer».