New material that can heals itself and “gives birth” invented by scientist

Scientists had developed ‘Living concrete’ which can heal its own cracks and even ‘give birth’ to new bricks.

The new material is a mixture of sand and bacteria, which can act as both a structural, load bearing substance, but can also carry out biological functions, like reproduction.

It was created by scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder who admit it would not look out of place in the laboratory of a mad scientist.

“It looks like a Frankenstein-type material,” said senior author Dr Wil Srubar, who heads the Living Materials Laboratory.

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to create – something that stays alive. We use photosynthetic cyanobacteria to biomineralize the scaffold, so it actually is really green.”

To create the living material, scientists first created a scaffold out of sand and a water-based gel for the bacteria to grow in, then allowed the bugs to proliferate and mineralise, a process similar to the formation of seashells in the ocean.

The hydrogel-sand brick is not only alive, but it also reproduces. While stable when dry, it springs back to life with an increase in temperature and humidity, and enters a new growth phase.

By splitting the brick in half, the bacteria can grow into two complete bricks with the help of adding a little extra sand, hydrogel, and food.

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