Popular_Science_Australia_November_2016

Biologists want to make

artificial organs. But to

do that, they need a deep

understanding of how

muscle cells—like those

in the heart—talk to one

another. So scientists at

Harvard created the first

truly hybrid robot animal.

The coin-sized stingray

has a gold skeleton

covered in a stretchy

polymer to which rat

muscle cells are

attached. Pulsing light

makes the ray “swim.”

It could help us learn

how to ultimately “see

things you people

wouldn’t believe...”

TheFirst

CyborgAnimal

HARVARD

ROBOTIC STINGRAY

D

FOSTER + PARTNERSZAYED NATIONAL MUSEUM

Underground

Oasis

A

TEB TECHNOLOGY TRANSIT ELEVATED BUS

Traffic-

straddling bus

Up to 40 per cent of food

goes to waste, often due

to spoilage. A plant

pathologist at Penn State

used the versatile gene-

editing tool called

CRISPR- Cas9 to design a

button mushroom that

resists browning, might

have a longer shelf life,

and could ultimately cost

the same as regular old

mushrooms. Though the

product is not yet on sale,

the tech behind it skirted

USDA regulation last

spring, paving the way

for future gene-edited

groceries. Month old

tomatoes are the best!

’Shroomswith

ShelfLife

B

PENN STATE

CRISPR-CAS9 FOR FOOD

Capturing carbon from

the atmosphere is an

alluring solution to our

climate woes, but we

need to figure out how to

store it quickly and

permanently. CarbFix

—a system currently in

use at one power plant in

Iceland—dissolves

greenhouse gases in

water, and then pumps

them into nearby basalt-

laden volcanic rock,

where both convert

into limestone within a

few years. The ocean

floor is rich in basalt,

so the method could

scale worldwide.

ASpeedyWayto

StoreC0 2

C

COLUMBIA + UNIV. OF

ICELAND CARBFIX

The bigger the building,

the harder it gets to

efficiently heat and cool

the interior. So

architects gave the

world’s second-tallest

skyscraper, which

opened this year in

Shanghai, a double-

walled facade that “acts

as a thermos, keeping

occupants warm in the

winter and cool in the

summer,” according to

project director Grant

Uhlir. The twisty shape

creates room for 21 “sky

gardens” that reflect the

natural landscape and

purify the internal air.

Extra-Green

Skyscraper

E

GENSLER

SHANGHAI TOWER

A

D

C

B