Designed-by-Evolution « NextNature.net

Posts Tagged ‘Designed-by-Evolution’

Ancient man impacted environment already

The human environmental impact on our planet is hardly underestimated nowadays. Scientist agree humans are to blame for Global Warming – some are already dreaming up scenario’s of geo-engineering to undo the damage. Untouched old nature is almost nowhere to be found anymore besides perhaps some small areas on the South pole, in the deep sea or if one looks up at the stars – although the brighter ones may well be satellites. “We were here”, is written all over. So when did the writing begin? Much earlier than thought.

According to the common perception the human impact on the environment is fairly recent and thought to have started in concert with the 19th centuries industrial revolution. Presumably, in earlier times humans lived in harmony with their environment. That popular romantic view however, is increasingly being challenged.

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Van Mensvoort
on 30/10/11 4 Comments »
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- Back to the Tribe | Designed-by-Evolution | manufactured-landscapes
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Earth 2.0 with Rachel Armstrong

Forthcoming Next Nature Power Show speaker, Rachel Armstrong describes some of the differences between so-called Earth 1.0 and Earth 2.0 technologies. The video is especially recommended for connoisseurs of fortissimo synthesizer music. If this is not you, you can also read Rachel’s Self-Repairing Architecture essay.
Van Mensvoort
on 28/10/11 Comments »
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- Bionics | Designed-by-Evolution | Guided Growth
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City Planning with Bright Bacteria

Renegade architect and futurist Rachel Armstrong has proposed that our cities, currently constructed of dead trees, baked mud, and refined ore, need to be coated in a layer of glowing, hungry bio-goo. Bioluminescent bacteria could be “painted” on walls, billboards, and sidewalks to provide a low-energy means to bathe city streets in a peaceful blue-green light.

Wild bioluminescent bacteria like Vibrio phosphoreum (pictured above) aren’t bright enough to provide light to read by, but it’s possible that they could be genetically engineered to produce more vibrant light. Of course, delivering nutrients to an entire city of blueish bacteria, especially ones that currently live only in water, could prove more of a challenge.

Armstrong also suggests that building surfaces could be fortified with carbon-hungry bacteria to soak up local C02 emissions. Even if hers is a decidedly sci-fi vision, it’s vital to our planet’s health (and our own) to push for over-the-top solutions. Breaking out of a 12,000 year old architectural paradigm will require thinking outside of the steel-and-concrete box.

Rachel Armstrong has previously been featured on Next Nature for her proposal to save Venice using protocells that grow and accrete like a coral reef. She will be presenting her views on synthetic biology at the Next Nature Power Show on November 5.

Via The Times. Image of a researcher via Hunter Cole.
Allison Guy
on 18/10/11 Comments »
Tags
- Designed-by-Evolution | Dynamic-architecture | Guided Growth | Manufactured Animals | Nextnature Event | Power Show
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E.Coli produced Spider Silk

In a previous post we have reported on spider silk, it’s applications and the way it is produced. Adding the gene responsible for the production of the spider silk protein to other animals has given us silkworms and spidergoats that produce spider silk. We can now ad a harmless version of E.Coli to the spider silk production list.

Via Physorg. Image via University of California.
Stefan Fincken
on 03/10/11 1 Comment »
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- Bionics | Designed-by-Evolution | Hypernature | Manufactured Animals | Microbial Factories
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Next Nature lecture: Gardening Complexity

No, the peculiar image above was not created by an in vitro fertilized child from the combined DNA of Escher, Mondrian and Pollock, but rather by 21th century designer Remco van Bladel. The dazzling image is part of the visual identity of the ongoing Patterns and Pleasure Festival organized by Steim in Amsterdam.

Recommended for both musicians as well as economists – if you happen to be in the neighborhood – do visit the Next Nature lecture at the Gardening Complexity symposium. Contrary to the modernistic approach of simplifying through modeling, we must now embrace complexity and guide its growth. Word up.
Van Mensvoort
on 26/09/11 Comments »
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- Designed-by-Evolution | Symbolic-Overdrive | Wild-systems
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Deus Ex: The EyeBorg Documentary

Back in 2009 Rob Spence, a cyborg film maker, worked together with a team of ocularists, inventors, engineering specialists on a prosthetic eye which can capture and stream video. He then started the project: EyeBorg.

Commissioned by the makers of ‘Deus Ex: Human Revolution‘, a game which tells the story of the year 2027 where cyborgs are the norm, he needed to figure out how far we currently are from that future. In his 12 minute documentary he meets leading scientists in biotechnology and fellow cyborgs. It shows we are not far from a future where cyborgs are the norm.

Rob says: “People are going to have the option of having superior arms, superior eyes at some point. People say no one would ever cut off their own arm and replace it, but if the technology gets there – and it looks like it will – people will think about it. They might be early adopters.”

Via EyeBorg - Sky News
Marco van Beers
on 19/09/11 Comments »
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- Anthropomorphobia | Augmented-Bodies | Designed-by-Evolution | Technorhetoric
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Bulletproof Skin

Recent work of artist Jalila Essaïdi exemplifies of how science and art can meet and create meaningful inventions for society. Jalila Essaïdi used the spider silk produced by Randy Lewis’ goats to develop a partially bulletproof supernatural human skin.

The goal of the project is to “Improve the sense of security”. The project raises questions as: How far do we want to go, as individuals and society in general, to feel secure? With this project Jalila Essaïdi is one of the three winners of the Designer and Artists 4 Genomics (DA4G) Award 2010, an initiative by the Centre for Society and Genomics and Waag Society’s Wetlab to stimulate young artists and designers to work with living organisms, living tissues and biotechnology (bio-arts). The money attached to this award gave Jalila Essaïdi the opportunity to make prototypes of the skin and test these at a firing range. The Bulletproof Skin and the other winning projects are exhibited until January 8th 2012 in the museum of the Dutch centre of biodiversity Naturalis.

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Lisa van der Voort
on 12/09/11 Comments »
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- Anthropomorphobia | Augmented-Bodies | Designed-by-Evolution | Hypernature
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Spidergoats & Superskin

While some of us might have heard of the humorous but fictional ‘spider pig,’ spidergoats are the real deal. Although you might expect to see them lounging in giant webs or dangling from the ceiling, spidergoats actually look and behave like normal, everyday goats.

Randy Lewis, professor of molecular biology at the University of Wyoming, has geneticly modified goats so they produce the same protein in their milk that spiders use to spin their webs. As you might have guessed, milking spiders is a difficult job. Milking goats, on the other hand, has been done for centuries. Not only are goats easy to handle, they don’t tend to eat each other like spiders do. They also produce much more of the spider silk-protein than a single or even a hundred spiders can.

The silk spiders produce is a very thin yet strong material. The tensile strength of a silk strand varies from species to species. Some spiders, like Darwin’s Bark Spider, produced silk that is up to 10 times stronger than kevlar.

Bio-artist Jalila Essaïdi uses the spider silk produced by Randy Lewis’ goats to create superhuman skin that is partially bulletproof. “The work did stop some partially slowed bullets but not the one at full speed. But even with the skin pierced by the bullet the experiment is still a success. It leads to the conversation about how which form of safety would benefit society.”
Stefan Fincken
on 08/09/11 1 Comment »
Tags
- Designed-by-Evolution | Hypernature | Intimate Technology | Manufactured Animals
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Beetle Egg

Our peculiar image of the week presents us the lustrous uncannyness of a Beetle car in its embryonic stage. Rest assure: this is fiction, however, metaphorically the sculpture by artist Olav Mooij represents a profound truth we are only gradually getting attuned to: how mankind is co-evolving with its technology and thereby enabling non-genetic evolution.

The beetle egg is currently on display at the Natuur Apps expo at the Gouverneurstuin in Assen (NL), where it will remain until September 1th. The expo is closed with a Next Nature lecture, so if you happen to be in the neighborhood..
Van Mensvoort
on 01/09/11 Comments »
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- Bionics | Designed-by-Evolution | Nongenetic Evolution | On-the-Road
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Growing a Crystal Chair

Japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka does not sculpt his work, but grows it. His Venus chair was created by immersing a plastic mesh substrate into a tank filled with a chemical solution. Gradually crystals precipitate onto the substrate and give structure to the chair. It might not be the most comfortable place to take a seat, but it’s a great example of guided growth. Yoshioka has experimented with various other crystalline structures ranging from Greek sculptures to entire rooms. Maybe a scale replica of the Fortress of Solitude isn’t too far off.

More images after the jump.

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Allison Guy
on 30/08/11 Comments »
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- Designed-by-Evolution | Dynamic-architecture | Guided Growth | Hypernature
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Labradoodle

Indulge in its cuteness. The Labradoodle brings us the finest blend between the labrador and the poodle. Combining sociability with beauty, they are the perfect human companion. The labradoodle is a manufactured animal. Moreover, its apparent artificiality conceals the fact that Labradors and Poodles are manufactured no less. The dogs distant past as wild gray wolves is an echo long gone.
Van Mensvoort
on 22/08/11 1 Comment »
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- Designed-by-Evolution | Genetic-surprises | Hypernature | Manufactured Animals | Suburban Utopia
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Birdfeeders spit Blackcaps in two species

Until now, most people have likely regarded bird-feeders as merely a pleasant addition to their gardens. But scientists have now discovered that bird-feeders in the UK are actually having a serious long term impact on bird life – they’ve found that the feeders have brought about the first evolutionary step in the creation of a brand new species.

Historically, European Blackcap birds migrate to Spain to spend their winters, where they feed on fruit and berries. While in the past the part of the population that accidentally flew to the UK had a hard time surviving, since the rise of bird–feeders in the UK things changed.

The food supplied by animal-loving Brits, along with the luxury of not flying over the Alps, have made Britain an increasingly popular holiday destination for wintering blackcaps. And that has set them down the path towards becoming two separate species, Gregor Rolshausen from the University of Freiborg and colleagues write in the journal Current Biology.

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Van Mensvoort
on 06/08/11 2 Comments »
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- Designed-by-Evolution | Guided Growth | Manufactured Animals | Suburban Utopia
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Tomberry – The Worlds Smallest Tomato

Some people like berries, some like tomato’s. So what do you get when you get when the two mate? Indeed, the latest hyperfruit spotted on the selves is the Tomberry. This unusually small cultivar of tomatoes, which weight only 1-2 grams and are less than a centimeter in size, is produced by the Dutch company Eminent Food BV and distributed throughout Europe. Unsurprisingly the name Tomberry has been trademarked.
Van Mensvoort
on 21/07/11 2 Comments »
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- Designed-by-Evolution | Hypernature | Image-Consumption | Suburban Utopia | Supermarket
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Streetlight Trees

We all know the cellphone masts disguised as trees, created in an attempt to blend technology within the ‘natural’ landscape. Now Taiwanese scientists have created trees that could function as streetlights. They infused the leaves of Bacopa Caroliniana with gold nanoparticles which causes the chlorophyll to produce a reddish luminescence. This phenomenon is awkwardly named bio-LED by the scientists.

According to Yen Hsun Su of the Academia Sinicia and the National Cheng Kun Univerisity: ‘The bio-LED could be used to make roadside trees luminescent at night. This will save energy and absorb CO2 as the bio-LED luminescence will cause the chloroplast to conduct photosynthesis,’ This means that while the tree is ‘lit’ more CO2 is consumed from the atmosphere, therefore the glowing trees could reduce carbon emission, cut electricity costs while still lighting streets safely.

Photo courtesy of MrHayata. Via PopSci via Inhabitat.
Marco van Beers
on 19/07/11 8 Comments »
Tags
- Calm-technology | Designed-by-Evolution | Hypernature | manufactured-landscapes | Officegarden | Suburban Utopia | transparant-interfaces
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The Technological Sublime

The sublime is an aesthetic concept of ‘the exalted,’ of beauty that is grand and dangerous. Through 17^th and 18^th century European intellectual tradition, the sublime became intimately associated with nature. Only in the 20^th century, did the technological sublime replace the natural sublime. Have our sense of awe and terror been transferred to factories, war machines, and the unknowable, infinite possibilities suggested by computers and genetic engineering?

By JOS DE MUL

When we call a landscape or a piece of art ‘sublime,’ we express the fact that it evokes particular beauty or excellence. Note that the ‘sublime’ is not only an aesthetic characterization; a moral action of high standing or an unparalleled goal in a soccer game may also be called ‘sublime.’ Roughly speaking, the sublime is something that exceeds the ordinary. This aspect of its meaning is expressed aptly in the German word for the sublime: the ‘exalted’ (das Erhabene). In the latter term we also hear echoes of the religious connotation of the concept. The sublime confronts us with that which exceeds our very understanding.

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Jos de Mul
on 17/07/11 2 Comments »
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- Designed-by-Evolution | Genetic-surprises | manufactured-landscapes | Wild-systems
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Get Vegetarian Teeth and Eat Less Meat

Want to live a greener life? Eat less meat. Recently the UN appealed for a radical shift in diet, to improve individual health and ease conditions affecting the global environment. Reducing meat consumption by 10% reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Unfortunately, humans are omnivores. Our teeth are designed to eat both meat and plants. Susana Soares and her colleagues designers and engineers of the Material Beliefs program propose to alter human teeth structures into those of herbivores, in order to become a better vegetarian.

Teeth are an essential tool for nutrition and their shape is related to diet. Herbivore animals have developed teeth structures suited to the consumption of plant material. Can our teeth structure be replaced to encourage dietary shifts that reflect social concerns?

Soon at a local dentist near you? Perhaps your government will even give you a tax cut for adopting a more sustainable veggy lifestyle? No seriously, this is bio play.

See also: Phone Tooth, Orthorexia Nervosa: the healty eating disorder.
Van Mensvoort
on 28/06/11 8 Comments »
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- Anthropomorphobia | Augmented-Bodies | Biopolitics | Design-for-debate | Designed-by-Evolution | Food Technology | Hypernature | Made-to-debate | Supermarket
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An Ecstatic Dialogue with Richard Doyle

When techno–optimist and fellow at the Hybrid Reality Institute, Jason Silva, meets with Richard Doyle, author of Darwin’s Pharmacy: Sex, Plants and the Evolution of the Noosphere, we must buckle up for an Ecstatic Dialogue on language, reality, ancient Internets and how psychedelics make us human.

JASONSILVA: Your new book Darwin’s Pharmacy talks about the relationship between psychedelic plants and the accelerating evolution of the “noosphere”, which some define as the knowledge substrate of reality, the invisible, informational dimension of collective intelligence and human knowledge. Is this more or less accurate?

RICHDOYLE: The book features a set of nested claims about the evolution of mind, psychedelics (or, as I prefer and propose, “ecodelics”), and the evolution of the noosphere, but all of the claims can be understood via two claims:

(1) Ecodelics have been an integral part of the human toolkit, so suppressing them is like suppressing music, jokes or other aspects of our humanity. (Here I am following Samorini, Siegel, and others)

and

(2) As integral parts of the human toolkit, ecodelics are best modeled as part of sexual selection – the competition for mates and the leaving of progeny. A careful look at Charles Darwin’s writings on sexual selection will show that sexual selection works through the management of attention – what we would now call “information technologies.” Think birdsong, bioluminescence ( the most widespread communication technology on the planet), poetry. The peacock is managing and focusing peahen attention with his feathers, so what we have called “mind” has been involved in evolution for a very long time. Mandrilles eat iboga before competing for mates.

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Jason Silva
on 26/06/11 1 Comment »
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- Augmented-Bodies | Designed-by-Evolution | Image-Consumption | Sentient Spaces | Symbolic-Overdrive | virtual-for-real
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Entoforms

Artist Dolf Veenvliet (Macouno) is creating future fossil trilobites that have yet to exist. Using generative computer models, his Entoforms are not the result of millions of years of evolving biological DNA. Instead, the system uses plain text as an input for generating the creatures, creating a wide variety that rivals the diversity we see in Old Nature’s fossile records.

In the video below, Dolf talks about his project and invites us to join him in exploring this new world of creatures that are born through modern 3D printing manufacturing technologies.
Bastiaan Ekeler
on 19/06/11 Comments »
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- Designed-by-Evolution | Fake-nature | Manufactured Animals
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