This photograph shows green photosynthetic cyanobacteria growing and mineralizing in the sand-hydrogel framework. The living material has similar strength to cement-base mortar. College of Engineering and Applied Science at Colorado University Boulder / EurekAlert!
Cement is a remarkable building material; it's cheap, durable and readily available. However, its production is a leading source of carbon dioxide emissions, coughing up 2.8 gigatons of emissions every year, as Advanced Science News reported.
<p>While researchers have sought alternative means of production that would make building materials more eco-friendly, they have been unable to recreate cement's durability. Until now. A team of researchers has created concrete that is alive and can reproduce and capture carbon, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/science/construction-concrete-bacteria-photosynthesis.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. </p>
<p>The research team from the University of Colorado Boulder created an entirely new material with minerals that are deposited from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/cyanobacteria" rel="noopener noreferrer">cyanobacteria</a>. They published their process yesterday in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/matter/fulltext/S2590-2385(19)30391-1" target="_blank">Matter</a>. Cyanobacteria are common microbes that capture energy through photosynthesis. That process means the plants will absorb carbon dioxide, which is the opposite of the industry standard concrete, which spews massive quantities of greenhouse gasses, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/science/construction-concrete-bacteria-photosynthesis.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported. </p>
<p>While regular concrete is an unfavorable environment for bacteria, this material has a process based around the bacteria, which enlists its creators to build the concrete and keeps them alive so they can make more later on. Since the process stems from cyanobacteria — the same class of bacteria responsible for a harmful <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/algal-blooms" rel="noopener noreferrer">algal bloom</a> — it looks green, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/science/construction-concrete-bacteria-photosynthesis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>"It really does look like a Frankenstein material," said Wil Srubar, a structural engineer and the head of the research project, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/science/construction-concrete-bacteria-photosynthesis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a> reported. However, the green color fades as the material dries. </p>
<p>The research team says their innovation paves the way for living buildings in the future that can heal their own cracks and purify the air, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7890291/Scientists-create-living-concrete-using-sand-gel-bacteria.html" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a>.</p>
<p>"Microorganisms can be leveraged for multiple purposes in the design of [living building materials], including increasing the rate of manufacturing, imparting mechanical benefit, and sustaining biological function," said the authors in the <a href="https://www.cell.com/matter/fulltext/S2590-2385(19)30391-1" target="_blank">study</a>, as <a href="https://www.advancedsciencenews.com/scientists-create-living-concrete-from-bacteria-and-sand/" target="_blank">Advanced Science News</a> reported.</p>
<p>This new concrete "represents a new and exciting class of low-carbon, designer construction materials," said Andrea Hamilton, a concrete expert at the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/science/construction-concrete-bacteria-photosynthesis.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>The project was funded by Darpa, the Department of Defense's research arm. Darpa wanted a fast process for creating a living concrete. The researchers started by putting cyanobacteria in a mixture of sand and nutrients. The bacteria did start to produce a calcium carbonate that cemented the sand particles together, but the process was very slow, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/science/construction-concrete-bacteria-photosynthesis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a>. </p><p>It's a lot like making rice crispy treats where you toughen the marshmallow by adding little bits of hard particles,' said Srubar, as the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7890291/Scientists-create-living-concrete-using-sand-gel-bacteria.html" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a> reported.</p>
<p>Srubar had the idea to add gelatin to the mixture as a way to strengthen the matrix being built by the cyanobacteria. The gelatin successfully added structure, and it teamed up with the bacteria to help the living concrete grow stronger and faster, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/science/construction-concrete-bacteria-photosynthesis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>"The first time we made a big structure using this system, we didn't know if it was going to work, scaling up from this little-bitty thing to this big brick," said Chelsea Heveran, a former postdoc with the group — now an engineer at Montana State University — and the lead author of the study to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/science/construction-concrete-bacteria-photosynthesis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a>. "We took it out of the mold and held it — it was a beautiful, bright green and said 'Darpa' on the side." (The mold featured the name of the project's funder.) "It was the first time we had the scale we were envisioning, and that was really exciting."</p>
<p>"This is a material platform that sets the stage for brand new exciting materials that can be engineered to interact and respond to their environments," said Srubar, as the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7890291/Scientists-create-living-concrete-using-sand-gel-bacteria.html" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a> reported. "We're just scratching the surface and laying the foundation of a new discipline. The sky is the limit."</p>
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A dog named Sheba runs out of a duck pond in Prospect Park Sept. 2, 2007 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
Daniel Barry / Getty Images
The toxic algae blooms that have killed dogs in Texas, North Carolina and Georgia have been detected in three New York City parks. Parents and pet owners are being warned to keep their kids and dogs away from the infected water, which can be fatal when dogs lap it up, swallow it while swimming, or lick it off their own fur, as the New York Times reported.
<p>Two of the city's most popular parks, Central Park and Prospect Park in Brooklyn have water coated in an algae bloom laced in the harmful and sometimes deadly cyanobacteria, as the <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/08/24/toxic-algae-thats-killed-9-dogs-found-in-central-park-prospect-park/" target="_blank">New York Post</a> reported.</p><p><br></p><p>The blooms are not technically algae, but cyanobacteria — aquatic and photosynthetic bacteria</p>
<p>The New York Department of Environmental Conservation, which routinely tests the waters in New York City's parks, found dangerously high levels of toxins in the Harlem Meer at the north end of Central Park, the Turtle Pond next to the Great Lawn in Central Park, the pond in Prospect Park and the pond in Morning Side Park, as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/25/nyregion/toxic-algae-nyc-parks.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront" target="_blank">New York Times</a> reported. </p>
<p>"When enjoying fresh water features in city parks, it is important to try to avoid contact with any algae and keep pets on leashes and do not allow them to enter or drink from lakes and ponds unless in areas specifically designated for such activities," a spokeswoman with NYC Parks said in a statement sent to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/science/new-york-city-toxic-algae-central-park-water" target="_blank">Fox News</a>.</p>
<p>"Many factors influence algae blooms, including high nutrients, stagnant water, high temperatures, and low oxygen," she continued.</p>
<p>Urban areas are particularly susceptible since a variety of nutrients found on nearby roads, sidewalks and sewage pipes, pour into the lakes and ponds. Plus, the waters are shallow, which allows nutrients to mix easily, according to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/25/nyregion/toxic-algae-nyc-parks.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront" target="_blank">New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website publishes a <a href="https://nysdec.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=ae91142c812a4ab997ba739ed9723e6e" target="_blank">map of locations</a> where a harmful algal bloom (HAB) has been detected. However, it warns that the map may be incomplete as HABs often develop and spread quickly, particularly in August and September. "HABs may be present in all or parts of a waterbody. Avoid recreating in discolored water, or water that has visible scums," the <a href="https://nysdec.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=ae91142c812a4ab997ba739ed9723e6e" target="_blank">website warns</a>. </p>
<p>Cyanobacteria releases toxins that can cause skin rashes, gastrointestinal distress and neurological problems. The toxins can also trigger liver damage and respiratory paralysis in animals, as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/25/nyregion/toxic-algae-nyc-parks.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront" target="_blank">New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/08/24/toxic-algae-thats-killed-9-dogs-found-in-central-park-prospect-park/" target="_blank">New York Post</a> tracked down dog walkers near the algae-covered Harlem Meer.</p>
<p>"That water is horrible –there is a ton of junk inside there plus the algae," said Eric Quick, 30, as he walked his two dogs.</p>
<p>"There are a bunch of fish and turtles that die on a regular basis, so you don't know what's in there. You see a lot of floating turtles. It's pretty awful," said Sunday Humphrey, 53, who doesn't allow her pitbull-rottweiler mix near the water.</p>
<p>The Parks Department has put up yellow signs near the Harlem Meer and in Prospect Park warning park goers about the Harmful Algal Bloom, saying not to fish in the water, not to drink the water, not to let animals or children near the water, and to rinse any skin exposed to the cyanobacteria. </p>
<p>"I just had my dog on a walk right near the water," said Marcin Nasuro, 24, who was with his poodle in Prospect Park, as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/25/nyregion/toxic-algae-nyc-parks.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront" target="_blank">New York Times</a> reported. "I wouldn't come near the lake if I knew it was toxic. A dog's like a kid. It's like a part of your family."</p>
<p>This year toxic algae blooms have decimated businesses near popular summer spots. Every <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/mississippi-beaches-toxic-algae-2639129460.html" target="_self">beach in Mississippi was closed</a> earlier this summer and New Jersey's largest and most popular <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/lake-hopatcong-algae-blooms-2639659015.html" target="_self">lake has been closed</a> since June because of toxic algae, as Ecowatch reported. </p>
<p>Scientists attribute the spike in HABs to the climate crisis, which has increased the intensity of rainstorms. </p>
<p>"There is a relationship between a changing climate and increased intensity of storms," said Marit Larson, the chief of natural resources in New York City's Department of Parks and Recreation, to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/25/nyregion/toxic-algae-nyc-parks.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront" target="_blank">New York Times</a>.</p>
<div id="2d9ee" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="K6XJ931576661560"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1162328163734753280" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Dogs Are Dying From Toxic Algae in Lakes and Ponds #ClimateFacts via @EcoWatch
https://t.co/bNHYqPJ9Yj</div> — The YEARS Project (@The YEARS Project)<a href="https://twitter.com/YEARSofLIVING/statuses/1162328163734753280">1565955603.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) growing in a green space in the city of Chemnitz, Germany. Mars 2002 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
The latest renewable energy breakthrough took place over a lunch.
Sudeep Joshi, a postdoctoral fellow at Stevens Institute of Technology, told BBC News that he and some colleagues were discussing the problem of cyanobacteria. These are organisms that can convert sunlight into electric current. The problem? They don't live long enough on artificial lab equipment for researchers to be able to take much advantage of that fact.
<p>"One day my friends and I went to lunch together and we ordered some mushrooms," Joshi told BBC News. "As we discussed them we realized they have a rich microbiota of their own, so we thought why not use the mushrooms as a support for the cynaobacteria. We thought let's merge them and see what happens."</p><p>So Joshi and Manu Mannoor, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stevens who runs the lab Joshi works in, took ordinary button mushrooms and used 3D printing to combine them with the bacteria. </p><p>A Stevens <a href="https://www.stevens.edu/news/bionic-mushrooms-fuse-nanotech-bacteria-and-fungi" target="_blank">press release</a> explained the process: </p><blockquote>Mannoor and Joshi used a robotic arm-based 3D printer to first print an "electronic ink" containing the graphene nanoribbons. This printed branched network serves as an electricity-collecting network atop the mushroom's cap by acting like a nano-probe—to access bio-electrons generated inside the cyanobacterial cells. Imagine needles sticking into a single cell to access electrical signals inside it, explains Mannoor.<br><br>Next, they printed a "bio-ink" containing cyanobacteria onto the mushroom's cap in a spiral pattern intersecting with the electronic ink at multiple contact points. At these locations, electrons could transfer through the outer membranes of the cyanobacteria to the conductive network of graphene nanoribbons. Shining a light on the mushrooms activated cyanobacterial photosynthesis, generating a photocurrent.</blockquote><p>The result? Something Manoor calls a "bionic mushroom" that generates electricity, pictured below.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="6b955" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="PWALI21576663787"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1060207723441086464" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Bionic Mushroom Generates Electricity https://t.co/s0fvdcOED2 https://t.co/ACIH0tSBcC</div> — ScienceDaily (@ScienceDaily)<a href="https://twitter.com/ScienceDaily/statuses/1060207723441086464">1541608193.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>The research team published their results in <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b02642" target="_blank">Nano Letters</a> Wednesday. In addition to proving their idea was possible, they also showed that the bacteria lived for several more days on living mushrooms, compared to lab equipment or dead mushrooms. They also showed that 3D printing made a difference. Using it, they were able to more densely pack the bacteria, which increased its electric output. The dense, 3D printed bacteria generated eight times the electricity of bacteria placed with a normal pipette.<br></p><p>This first bionic mushroom is just the beginning. Several mushrooms wired together could power a small lamp, researchers told BBC News, but their ambitions shine even brighter than that.</p><p>"Right now we are using cyanobacteria from the pond, but you can genetically engineer them and you can change their molecules to produce higher photo currents, via photosynthesis," Joshi told BBC News. "It's a new start; we call it engineered symbiosis. If we do more research in this we can really push this field forward to have some type of effective green technology."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="4aa80" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6Z7TSN1576663787"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="932047041815105536" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Bright Idea: This Lamp Harvests Its Own Energy From Plants https://t.co/hn5vXWf5JL @GOOD @GreenNewsDaily</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/932047041815105536">1511052306.0</a></blockquote></div>
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A Lake Worth lifeguard wearing a protective mask asks a surfer to exit the ocean as Palm Beach County officials announced that all county beaches are closed due to red tide affecting coastal areas on October 4, 2018 in Lake Worth, Florida. Joe Raedle / Getty Images
The same red tide choking Florida's Gulf coast has spread to waters off Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, forcing the closure of many popular beaches on Thursday and leaving hundreds of dead fish in its wake, according to local reports.
This is the first time in decades the toxic algae has affected both of Florida's coasts at the same time, the Associated Press reported.
<p style="">
"Florida's environment is now enduring a full-peninsula assault," Eve Samples wrote for
<a href="https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/florida-voices/2018/10/04/florida-voters-sick-environment-literally/1498039002/" target="_blank">Treasure Coast Newspapers</a>, noting that it's only the eighth time since the 1950s that red tide has been documented on the East Coast of Florida.</p>
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<p style="">Several South Florida beaches reopened on Friday, the
<a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-ne-red-tide-thursday-20181004-story.html" target="_blank">The Sun Sentinel</a> reported, but noted that a new forecast said "moderate" red tide conditions can be expected in the area at least through Tuesday.<br></p><p>
The outbreak of the
<em>Karenia brevis</em> organism first appeared last fall and has become one of the state's longest-lasting red tides on record. It has devastated Florida's marine life all summer, killing countless crabs, eels, fish, dozens of <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/red-tide-algae-killing-florida-wildlife_us_5b61cb2be4b0b15aba9ee150" target="_blank">manatees</a> and hundreds of endangered <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/red-tide-sea-turtles-dead-2590387089.html" target="_self">sea turtles</a>. The bloom has also been costly for the state's tourism industry and become a public health issue because it can irritate skin and cause respiratory problems.
</p><p style="">
The bloom now stretches roughly 135 miles along Florida's southwest coast.
</p><p style="">
In August, Gov. Rick Scott issued an
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/florida-emergency-order-red-tide-2595877043.html">executive order</a> declaring a state of emergency in seven southwestern counties and offered $1.5 million in aid. On Thursday, Gov. Scott announced $3 million in grants to St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties to help mitigate the effects of red tide.
</p><p style="">
"In Florida, when presented with problems, we work together and face them head on—red tide is no different," he said in a
<a href="https://www.flgov.com/2018/10/04/gov-scott-dep-to-provide-3-million-for-red-tide-on-floridas-east-coast/" target="_blank">press release</a>. "So far, the state has provided more than $16 million to help minimize the impacts of harmful algal blooms and expand our research and understanding of red tide, including funding to help scientists test innovative solutions for this phenomenon. We will continue to work with our local partners to ensure that their needs are fully met until this year's red tide subsides."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="4d202" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="DIGBQC1576662119"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1048251564887040001" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">NOAA now posting respiratory illness forecast for east coast of #Florida in response to new red tide bloom. See lat… https://t.co/JZ662ssV3y</div> — NOAA's Ocean Service (@NOAA's Ocean Service)<a href="https://twitter.com/noaaocean/statuses/1048251564887040001">1538757623.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">
Red tides can appear naturally, however some blame the phenomenon from increased nutrient pollution from human activities.
</p><p style="">
At the same time, as
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-causing-floridas-algae-crisis-5-questions-answered-101305" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> reported, a concurrent outbreak of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, has plagued downstream estuaries on both coasts. The bloom comes from discharges of polluted fresh water from Lake Okeechobee and polluted local runoff water from the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee watersheds.
</p><p style="">
<span></span>Gov. Scott, who has served for eight years, has faced a share of the blame for the state's red tide and blue-green algae outbreaks.
</p><p>
<span></span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/08/09/florida-an-environmental-crisis-takes-center-stage-tight-senate-race/?utm_term=.a62182654114" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported in August:
</p><blockquote style="margin-left: 20px;">
During Scott's tenure, budgets for environmental agencies have been sharply reduced. The budget of the South Florida Water Management District, which oversees water issues from Orlando to Key West, was cut. Many of the more than 400 workers who lost their jobs in the $700 million cut were scientists and engineers whose jobs were to monitor pollution levels and algal blooms. Scott also abolished the Department of Community Affairs, which oversaw development in the state.
</blockquote><p style="">
Sen. Bill Nelson, who is battling Scott to keep his Senate seat, tweeted Friday: "The people of Florida know how Rick Scott's disastrous environmental policies have harmed our waters and devastated communities. Their voices are being heard loud and clear."
</p><p style="">
Pointing the finger back, Scott has accused Nelson of failing to secure federal funds to fix the aging Lake Okeechobee dyke.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="7d131" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="PR5VKL1576662119"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1048223681045045254" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The people of Florida know how Rick Scott's disastrous environmental policies have harmed our waters and devastated… https://t.co/GGvX8tfiOB</div> — Bill Nelson (@Bill Nelson)<a href="https://twitter.com/NelsonForSenate/statuses/1048223681045045254">1538750975.0</a></blockquote></div>
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