Animals Made from Other Animals
Allison GuyThat's no reindeer, and it's certainly no moose. It's an Irish Elk, Megaloceros giganteous , a deer that happens to be neither an elk, nor really all that Irish. What it does …
Search results for Manufactured Animals
Plastic Junk Helps Ocean Animals (Sometimes)
Allison GuyWhile the Pacific garbage patch is often characterized as a dense, Texas-sized island of plastic, in reality it's an area of 2,736 square km scattered with tiny, floating bits of …
We Love Cities, so Do Wild Animals
Alessia AndreottiHow wild animals and cities are adapting to each other.
Augmented Animals
Dr NaturalAnimals do not shape their living environment as radically as humans, but why don't we give them some help. James Auger envisions animals, birds, reptiles and even fish becoming …
Totem Animals for the Anthropocene
Ted HeistmanInvasive species become the animal symbols for a man-made world.
Body hair helps animals stay clean – and could inspire self-cleaning technologies
David HuWatch a fly land on the kitchen table, and the first thing it does is clean itself, very, very carefully. Although we can’t see it, the animal’s surface is covered with dust, …
Is in vitro meat good news for animals?
NextNature.netThe Singapore Food Agency has approved “chicken bites” containing meat made from real chicken cells that were grown outside of a chicken’s body. Alongside similar news from Israel …
System Animals
Koert van MensvoortWhat animal is so naive to come into this world as a naked and crying infant, completely vulnerable, helpless, and an easy prey for any predator? Newborn lamb or giraffe’s babies …
Fake-for-Real Fur from Imaginary Animals
Alice FumeyWWF teams up with designers to produce fur from imaginary animals
Animals Mistaken For Spies
NextNature.netEgyptian authorities detained a stork last week on suspicion of espionage.
Hyper Animals
Koert van MensvoortNo no, don't worry! These hypernatural animals aren't the genetic surprise of some mad scientist, it is artist Sarina Brewer resampling, remixing and stitching together her Custom …
Beach animals
Arnoud van den HeuvelTheo Jansen makes skeletons which are able to walk on the wind. He wants to put these "animals" out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives. strandbeest
The Virtual Lives of Extinct Animals
Allison GuyWhat happens when next nature dreams of old nature? Such is the case with extinct animals that have ever come in contact with humans, particularly the dinosaurs, our own …
Animals Doing Extreme Stunts
Koert van MensvoortCGI video of animals doing crazy stunts makes us realize how peculiarly creative humans really are.
Animals Love Technology
Alessia AndreottiA macaque stole a tourist's iPhone and fiddled around with it like a human would.
Manufactured landscapes
Rolf CoppensEdward Burtynsky is a photographer that makes pictures scarred or altered landscapes, changed by industrial activities. His work shows the disappearance of nature and the …
Robots Love Animals Too
Allison GuySomeday robots may lead fish to safety. At least, that's the hope of Dr. Maurizio Porfiri, an Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University and expert …
Animals of the Future
Nick van der WeijdenNearly every adult in the Western world owns a personalized pet, sometimes more than one . It is treated with great care, fed when necessary and fitted to the owner’s wishes and …
Underground animals
Rolf CoppensThe Animals, made up using tube lines, stations and junctions on the London Underground map. I like these because it makes such a complex system really personal and funny. Watch …
New Volvo Recognizes Shapes of Animals like Deer & Elk to Reduce Crash Impact.
Koert van MensvoortVolvo cars is testing a new safety system that automatically hits the brakes once an animal is detected in the vehicles vicinity. The Animal Detection System expands the range and …
Animals Give Leadership Lesson to Humans
Margherita OlivoWhat are the characteristics of the perfect leader? The answer could be found looking at nature.
Manufactured Rainbows
Bastiaan EkelerWhy wait for old nature to give us rainbows when we have so many ways of making our own? The image above shows solar-powered installation that uses recycled rainwater to create …
What if Mosquitoes Were Only a Zoo Species?
Mathilde NakkenGenetic engineers are developing techniques to kill several types of mosquitoes.
Animals in advertising
KarlThe work of photographer Michael Wolf, amazing photos of buildings, plants, food and furniture. And unicorns. His website is definitely worth a look .
The social animals that are inspiring new behaviors for robot swarms
Edmund HuntFrom flocks of birds to fish schools in the sea, or towering termite mounds , many social groups in nature exist together to survive and thrive. This cooperative behaviour can be …
In Vitro Meat: Animal Liberation?
NextNature.netMany people welcome in vitro meat because of what it may mean for animals. Even though they often find the idea strange, the promise for animals is widely felt as a source of hope.
Living Among Pests – Designing the Biosynthetic City
Joyce HwangJoyce Hwang discusses the challenges for designers, and gains for citizens, of living in a truly biosynthetic city.
Human-animal hybrids are coming and could be used to grow organs for transplant
Mackenzie GrahamAround the world thousands of people are on organ donor waiting lists. While some of those people will receive the organ transplants they need in time, the sad reality is that …
Robotic Mule
Rolf CoppensDesigned for army uses, the Robotic mule is build for walking and carrying heavy loads through rough terrain. It also has balancing systems that keep it running when you try to …
Tree-climbing robot
Arnoud van den HeuvelI wonder what task this little fellow 's creators had in mind for him. Rescuing cats? Pruning branches? Picking coconuts? Found here. I'm glad there's a robot for every surface …
Metal Rooster
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkFrom our reliable source – who wishes to remain anonymous – we know that this is exactly the same rooster that was used in the Philips WakeUp Light test , but only one year later. …
Virtual | Real pet
Minke KampmanIn the 70's we had the pet rocks that have gotten lost over the years in drawers and attics. The 90's gave us Tamagotchi's to look after, which we could reset if all else failed. …
Is that a hamster in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?
Natalie DixonMobile phones may be the most affective technology we own but researchers at the Design Research Lab in Berlin have taken this notion to its most outlandish limit. Their cellular …
We sequenced the oldest ever DNA, from million-year old mammoths
NextNature.netMost people think of mammoths as the iconic woolly species from the last Ice Age, which ended around 12,000 years ago. But mammoths originated in Africa around 5 million years …
A Plan to Eliminate Predators
Alessia AndreottiBritish philosopher David Pearce believes we should to stop animals from hunting and killing other animals.
Gene-Edited Micropigs Will Be Soon Sold As Pets
Wei Lun WangEarlier this year, a group of Chinese scientists published a paper about the modification of the genome of human embryos with the cutting-edge powerful technique called CRISPRs. …
Letter to Humanity
Koert van MensvoortNNN director Koert van Mensvoort writes a letter to humanity.
Rotund Rats, Fat Cats and Chubby Chimps
Allison GuyIt's nothing new that humanity is getting chubbier by the day. What's surprising is that we're bringing our animals along for the ride. A meta-analysis of animal weight has …
Exploring Next Nature (2004)
Koert van MensvoortThe first essay ever written on Next Nature, published in Next Nature Pocket and in Entry Paradise, New Design Worlds . ( download pdf ) (German version: Erkundungen im Nächste …
Recreating Woolly Mammoth DNA
Yunus Emre DuyarScientists at Harvard University inserted wooly mammoth DNA into the genome of the Asian elephant.
The Coywolf: 65% Wolf, 25% Coyote, 10% Dog
Margherita OlivoThe coywolf: an animal that has the DNA of the wolves, coyotes and dogs.
Lilou the Airport Pig Will Soothe Your Travel
Monika KozubIf you happen to be at San Francisco International Airport on the hectic Holiday time, LiLou, the airport's pig can help you alleviate the stress.
How a 6.000-year-old fruit fly gave us cheese
John MorrisseyHistorians often trace the dawn of human civilisation back 10,000 years, when Neolithic tribes first settled and began farming in the Fertile Crescent, which stretches through …
Highlanders in the Lowlands: Re-enactment of an Extinct Cow
Koert van MensvoortAt the end of every cold winter there is a debate in the Netherlands on whether the forestry service should feed the oxes, horses and deers grazing the Dutch nature resorts. The …
The Human Construction of Gay Animal Culture
Allison GuyMuch attention has recently been devoted to 'gay' animals. It's not the fact that many species have enthusiastic homosexual lives that should be surprising – there are convincing …
Herons Eat at the Local Snack Bar
Floor FrintsOriginally herons are migratory birds, in the winter they leave to warmer habitats. In the city there is enough food to survive the winter. Some herons are even too lazy to find their own food and try to collect it from the local snack bar.
But will lab-grown meat be kosher?
Benjamin Aldes WurgaftRead Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft's essay on judaism in relation to the production of laboratory-grown meat.
Green Glowing Monkeys
Arnoud van den HeuvelJapanese researchers of the Central Institute for Experimental Animals , took a green fluorescent protein gene of a jellyfish, wove it into the DNA of a few marmosets embryos, …
Scientists 'grow' pork
SelbyScientists at the Eindhoven University of Technology are creating artificial pork. Prof. Dr Mark Post and his colleagues of the department of Biomedical Engineering have extracted …
Birdfeeders spit Blackcaps in two species
Koert van MensvoortUntil 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 …
The Monsters We Deserve
Allison GuyRecently, a video clip has been circulating the web that purportedly shows a rabbit born earless due to the radiation at Fukushima. BoingBoing has a convincing take-down of the …
Want Ketchup with those Flies?
Allison GuyIndustrial-scale in vitro meat may be a long way off, but for meat-lovers looking for a cheap, eco-friendly source of protein, there's no need to wait. We just have to swear off …
Q&A with CEO of In Vitro Meat Company "Modern Meadow"
Stephen PerryExcerpts from the Rebbit AMA with Andras Forgacs, founder of a company that manufactures in vitro meat.
Squirrels Are in Cities to Keep Us Sane
Allison GuyThe surprising reasons why squirrels are so abundant in city parks in the US.
Taste the Artificial Fish Rainbow
Allison GuyA gorgeously uncanny school of discus fish cluster in an aquarium, all of them captive breeds. Though there's nothing unusual about artificially selecting animals for flamboyant …
World's First In Vitro Hamburger Arrives
Allison GuyBreak out the ketchup: Mark Post has grown the world's first entirely artificial burger from cultured beef cells.
Anthropo-scene #7: Anthropocene Bird
ChristianDue to human action, 1300 bird species are seriously in decline. Other birds have learned to live with humans and profit from their presence.
Enlisting Eagles to Take Down Drones
Margherita OlivoAn eagle clutching a flying drone is probably not a show that you see everyday, unless you live in the Netherlands.
Growing Drones From Chemicals
Ruben BaartResearchers are experimenting with a new technology that would be able to grow drones from chemical compounds.
Pigs Have a Heart for Us
Elise MarcusReplacing your old heart with a new heart from an animal may seem extreme? Well, this future may arrive sooner than we think.
Boat Noise Makes Fish Bad Parents
Julie ReindlA study revealed that the sound of motorboat engines disturbs coral reef fish so acutely it changes their behavior, making them bad parents.
Tap Your Milk from a Cow Around the Corner
Ruben BaartTurning cows into walking vending machines for milk.
Endangered animal species, in pixels
Ruben BaartToday is World Animal Day , a day to put the spotlight on man's best friends in order to improve their welfare standards around the globe. At Next Nature HQ, we honor this day by …
Everyday robots
Rolf CoppensA beautifull movie about robots in everyday life. Made by 1st Avenue Machine. Watch the Quicktime here
Glamourdog
Dr NaturalAll the clothing for your dog companion: Dresses, sweaters, shoes, sportswear, jewellery, etc. Why do people dress up their animal? www.glamourdog.com
Coexist
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDonna Conlon is a Panama-based artist who often uses the relation between man and environment in her work. In her short film "Coexist" we get a close-up look at leaf cutter ants …
No transparent frog
Arnoud van den HeuvelIt was in the news all over the world, but wonder why at NextNature.net we have not mentioned the 'invention' of the transparent frog before? Probably because we think the frog is …
Robots in disguise
Rolf Coppens"Every year, in Germany alone, around 7000 people wait for a new cornea to save their eyesight. But donor corneas are in short supply. In an EU project, researchers have developed …
Barcode Tiger
Arnoud van den HeuvelPeculiar image found at: leoburnett.com Barcode zebra via: photochopz.com Barcode bottom via: jetcityorange.com Found another barcoded animal? Please post below. Related: Barcode …
DogFish
Arnoud van den HeuvelTry selling cars these days without some good old genetic manipulation...
Tail communicator
Sara'The LED Dog Tail Communicator' is an initiative of James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau, and it is part of the larger 'Augmented Animals' project. Its focus points to technological …
Get it out of Your Head
Arnoud van den HeuvelTalking about image consumption ... Via scaryideas.com | Related: Some Kids Don't Like Chicken | Banksy Pet Store | Featherless Chicken | Confetti Chicken | FFR Image Consumption
Wild Birds Illegally Immigrating to City Zoo
Koert van MensvoortBesides the extensive collection of animals from around the planet, the Amsterdam City Zoo Artis also houses some local wild species on its premises who immigrated into the zoo on …
Another Happy Family
Koert van MensvoortHow could you ever be an anthropomorphobic after you've seen this peculiar image of the week. Thanks Maze .
Engineering Mosquitoes into Flying Vaccinators
Koert van MensvoortScientists have developed a mosquito that spreads vaccine instead of disease. The researchers, led by molecular geneticist Shigeto Yoshida of Jichi Medical University in Tochigi …
Follow the Leader
Koert van MensvoortNo birds or airliners where hurt in the making of our peculiar image of the week. The perceived mingling of the birds and the airplane is in fact an optical effect, masking the …
The Crossing of Species
Koert van MensvoortDesigner Bob de Graaf takes pleasure in collecting and combining objects from old nature & next nature in search for similarities. Surely a traditional biologist would not …
Babel Fish
SelbyResearchers are working on a language and a device that will help humans and dolphins talk with each other. Denise Herzing , a researcher and founder of the Wild Dolphin Project …
City Rats Love Ethnic Food
Allison GuyCity rats, it seems, prefer the same foods that humans do: Greasy, fatty, sweet, and salty. Although rats are usually seen as the billy goats of city life, ready to chow down on …
Poaching from the New Savannah
Allison GuyThe Ipswich Museum, the Tring Museum, and around 30 other European cultural institutions and antiques dealers have experienced a rash of theft over the last few months. What turns …
The Afterlife of PIG 05049
Allison GuyChristien Meindertsma spent three years tracking down every product made from a single pig. Pork made a showing, but the more strange goods were "ammunition, medicine, photo …
Transgenic Jell-O, more human than ever!
Allison GuyThe American Chemical Society has announced a new method of producing gelatin that sounds like good news for cannibals and the canni-curious. Researchers are able to create …
As Corn Withers in the Drought, Farmers Fatten Their Cows on Candy
Allison GuyFarmers have long made frugal use of their table scraps, feeding their leftovers to hogs, dogs and now, cows. In a bizarre sign of our cash-strapped and climate-changing …
Beluga Whale makes Human-like Sounds
SelbyResearchers in the US have been shocked to discover a beluga whale whose vocalisations were remarkably close to human speech.
Bonobos (And Maybe Baboons) Domesticated Themselves
Allison GuyWhile evidence indicates that humans domesticated themselves , we're not the only primates capable of self-domestication. Bonobos and baboons have shown they are just as capable …
Frozen Coral Sperm Holds Promise in a Boiling World
Allison GuyLife is bleak and bleached for many of the world's corals. Fatal bleaching events triggered by warming seas have become common from the Caribbean to Australia. More worrying still …
Hybrid Hummer
Koert van MensvoortThere is something lustrous about a hummer pulled by horses. Peculiar image of the week.
Hybrid Meat
JenniferOn society's search to becoming a meatless one, several new kinds of 'meat' pop up in the food industry. From so called 'hybrid' meatballs, to 'the chicken that isn't', when will …
Meat the Future
Koert van MensvoortThis promotional video for in-vitro meat was brought to you by the bureau for in-vitro meat promotion students of the Beckmans College of Design .
Nano Product: Glo-Doo
NextNature.netDog feces are an unsightly blemish on city streets. With Glo-Doo, dog food laced with bioluminescent bacteria transforms each pile into an appealing way to light up the night. As …
Watch Out Whales, Humans Want Your Krill
Allison GuyKrill, those tiny members of the ocean's planktonic community, have an importance disproportionate to their size. They are a vital food for whales, penguins and increasingly, …
A More Interesting, More Depressing Theory of Easter Island's Downfall
Allison GuyA new theory claims it wasn't human deforestation that caused the ecological collapse of Easter Island, but something smaller and squeakier.
Pick Pig - Name Pig - Love Pig - Eat Pig
Stephen PerryIn a time of all-horse hamburgers and E. coli outbreaks, food provenance has become a huge issue. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the lack of traceability within the …
Cliff Swallows Are Evolving to Avoid Cars
Allison GuyCliff swallows, as their name suggests, like to build nests on cliffs and other rocky outcroppings. They also like building their nests on bridges and overpasses, and sunbathe on …
Cockroach Farms Do Big Business for Food and Pharmaceuticals
Allison GuyBig bugs make big bucks for Chinese farmers turning to roach ranching.
Death to all Bees
Dr NaturalWatch this propaganda film and you'll understand why. Share it and spread the word!
Engineering Beneficial Parasites
Lloyd AlbertsBreeding parasites to improve immune function, skin tone and even resistance to poison.
First Monkey Named after a Website
Koert van MensvoortThe honor of naming this new monkey was auctioned off to raise funds. The monkey is now know as the Goldenpalace.com Titi.
Invasive Sushi from Invasive Species
Allison GuyChef Bun Lai of Miya's Sushi in New Haven, Connecticut, has a cheeky solution to invasive species: he eats them. His menu regularly features lionfish and Asian shore crabs, …
New York's Dogs Hunt for Dangerous Game: City Rats
Allison GuyA society of dog owners who have no problem giving free reign to their pets' killer instincts.
Rubber Duck XL: the Bath is Over
Alessia AndreottiThe gigantic rubber duck created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman floated on Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, with the island skyline in the background. The XL duck showed up in …
Swans Float through Flooded Streets
Allison GuyA raft of swans blithely adopts an artificial habitat.
The Sci-Fi Prehistory of "Victimless" Meat
Allison GuyA (very) short history of a century's worth of "disembodied" meat in fiction.
Why Are Lobsters Thriving in Maine?
Allison GuyThe surprising - and predictably depressing - reasons why lobster stocks are booming.
Yes, Naturally
Ine GeversThe introductory essay from the Yes, Naturally book - available in our store!
BAT Flies High in the Sky to Make Energy
Francesca BarchiesiBuoyant Airborne Turbine is a giant high altitude wind turbine that brings low cost energy to remote areas and off-grid sites.
Bugs Developed Immunity to GMO Corn
Alessia AndreottiThe Western Corn Rootworm has evolved to eat genetically engineered corn, designed to kill it.
Street Lights Permanently Change the Ecology of Local Bugs
Allison GuyStreetlights affect local ecologies for a longer duration, and at a higher level in the food web, than previously thought.
The Robotic 3D Printed Spider Dress
Alessia AndreottiThe Spider Dress is programmed to define and protect the personal space of the wearer.
Let Your Drone Mow Your Lawn
Yunus Emre DuyarIf you do not want to slave away under the sun, pushing a bulky mower around, drones can do it for you.
Abandoning Modern Life to Live as a Goat
Wei Lun WangConceptual designer Thomas Thwaites is currently investigating and experiencing to live life as a goat.
Cats Take Over London Underground
Ruben BaartLast week nearly 70 portraits of cats replaced all advertisements at the Clapham Common tube station in London.
Horsesneakers
Alejandro AlvarezMegasus horse runners created the horsesneakers aimed to help horses and riders to deliver a better performance in sports.
Meet the Queen Bee Drone
NextNature.netThe Queen Bee Drone helps solving the bee crisis of the last decade, not intruding, just bringing help and assistance.
Meet the Vaccinator Drone
NextNature.netThe Vaccinator Drone will provide you with the medicine you need.
Meet the WiFi Drone
NextNature.netThis is the WiFi drone, a useful companion that perfectly blend into our environment while providing us with information and connectivity.
New Diets for Cows Can Stop Gas Emissions
Mathilde NakkenYearly 90 million metric tonnes of methane are burped and farted into the atmosphere by cattle with effects on climate change. Researchers are looking for ways to change the cow's diet, feeding it oregano, seaweed and super grass.
Reversing Evolution with a Legless Mouse
Mathilde NakkenAt a lab in Berkeley, California, there’s a mouse with no legs. Its head, torso, and tail are normal. It just lacks limbs. It didn’t lose those limbs; it just never grew them originally.
Teaching Crows to Clean Up Cigarette Butts
Jack CaulfieldCigarette butts are littered everywhere. But now, two Dutch designers have come up with a unique solution to the problem: the Crowbar.
HUBOT: Meet the Air Traffic Security Worker
NextNature.netAs air traffic security you make sure that birds stay away from the airport using your eagle drone. With an accessory console, you fly the quadcopter from the sideline to scare …
No Drones in the Park, Please!
Jack CaulfieldIn Icelandic national parks the use of drones has been forbidden. No camping, dogs to be kept on leashes, and please, leave your drones at home.
Pink GM Chicken Marks Anthropocene
Julie ReindlThe Pink Chicken Project suggests modifying chickens’ DNA in order to send a message about our Earth health.
Plastic Exoskeletons for Turtles
Nadine RoestenburgAntonio Esparza designed the TurtleBag: a 3D printable exoskeleton to help turtles distinguish plastic bags from jellyfish and extend their lifespan.
GM Self-Destroying Moths
Julie ReindlOpen-air tests of self-destructing moths mark a new frontier for GMOs.
Next Generation: Sheng-Wen Lo hears ultrasound waves like pets do
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Would you like to see your work here? Get in touch …
The Tissue Engineered Meat of Tomorrow
Koert van MensvoortThe meat in the supermarket is abstract, square and habitually made from wickedly manufactured animals. A friend once told me he only eats meat if he "can not recognize the animal …
Nature Ludens: The Natural World at Play
Rachel ArmstrongAn ingenious Russian crow that used a lid as a snowboard to slide down a snowy roof persuaded millions of YouTube viewers that animals are not merely beasts of burden – they also …
Growing the Future of Meat
Christina AgapakisOutside of the limits imposed by the edges of an animal’s body, the cells can reproduce and multiply until they exhaust the nutrients and space provided, filling petri dishes and vats to grow the future of meat.
Three ways farms of the future can feed the planet and heal it too
Karen Rial-LoveraIntensive agriculture may be nourishing most of the Earth’s inhabitants, but it’s doing the opposite to earth itself. Its dependence on singular crops, heavy ploughing machinery, …
Next Nature Interview
For the Venezuelan Magazine Platanoverde , Gabriela Valdivieso y Lope Gutiarrez-Ruiz interviewed artist/scientist Koert van Mensvoort and discussed some of the idea's behind Next …
Straight Outta Tokyo
Koert van MensvoortKarera sporting the corporate animals sweater . And pollen allergy. Related post: Corporate animals engraved on laptop . Via Karl .
CopyCat
DesignDirkArtist Andrew Chase creates kinetic sculptures of animals. He has studied these animals intensively. After his analysis he created copies of these animals in metal with mechanics …
Labradoodle
Koert van MensvoortIndulge 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 Non-Human Noosphere
Allison GuyThe definition of the noosphere as "the sphere of human thought on earth" is woefully anthropocentric. It ignores that fact that our fellow sentient organisms have noospheres of …
Lions Relocate to the Suburbs
Allison GuyAs cities push to the edges of the wilderness, wild animals are increasingly com
Andras Forgacs on Victimless Leather
Koert van MensvoortAndras Forgacs argues that bioengineering meat and leather is a civilized way to move beyond slaughtering animals for hamburgers and handbags.
The Carnery - A Cultured Future with In Vitro Meat
NextNature.netIn vitro meat has the capacity to transform meat production as we know it, introducing an entirely new way of thinking about and interacting with food.
What’s the Point If We Can’t Have Fun?
David GraeberSince Darwin we tend to look at the biological world exclusively in economical terms. The idea that monkey's, frogs, or even ants do more than simply propagate, doesn't find much acceptance among scientists. And yet, even crayfishes at times seem to displace objects just for fun.
From the Super Muscular Pig to the Hypoallergenic Cow: New GMOs May Soon Be on Your Plate
Alessia AndreottiThe acronym that keeps Europe awake at night is TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), a trade and investment deal that the EU is negotiating with the US. From …
Animal Guided Mediation
Elle Zhan WeiAnimal Meditation uses meditation guiding sounds to to enable user to feel as if he is an animal.
Animal Tsunami Alerts from Space
Alejandro AlvarezGlobal data about animal movements are indispensable in our today international networked world to understand how to safe human health and wildlife simultaneously.
Chinese farmers are using AI to help rear the world’s biggest pig population
James VincentIt’s been called China’s “pork miracle.” For centuries, pig-rearing in the country was predominantly a backyard occupation. (The etymology of the Chinese character for “home” …
Should lab-grown meat be labelled as meat when it's available for sale?
Hope JohnsonAustralian regulators will soon be faced with a challenge: can animal flesh produced in a lab be called meat? Amid reports that lab-grown meat could be on sale this year, the US …
How animal filters unmask the estranged relation to our wild self
Meike SchipperWould you like a dog snout, cat eyes or fluffy bunny ears? The choice is yours. Virtual selfie filters have become a widespread phenomenon on social media platforms such as …
Animal-Free Meat Could Put a Hold on Global Warming
Koert van MensvoortGrowing meat in the lab, rather than slaughtering animals, could become a viable alternative for people who want to cut the environmental impact of their food consumption, but …
Next Nature Services
Bas HaringIntentionality separates culture from nature. A dog is intentional, a fox is not; a park is intentional, a forest is not. Since trash, ruined buildings, and automated computer …
Four Objections to Lab-Grown Meat
Allison GuyIn vitro meat has been billed as a way to end animal suffering , put a stop to global warming , and solve the world's insatiable demand for animal protein. There's no doubt that …
Mice Reporting For Duty
Jeroen PillaerdsResearchers have developed genetic manipulated mice, with extra smell receptors that make them highly sensitive to the smell of explosives. Scientists hope to use these mice in the future to discover land mines
Why Meat Grown in Labs is the Next Logical Step for Food Production
Avy RoyLab grown meat is part of the trajectory that agricultural technology is already following.
Are Hawaiian Monk Seals Natural? Not According to Some Hawaiians
Alessia AndreottiWhy native Hawaiian people are killing off native Hawaiian monk seals.
Wild Ones
Koert van MensvoortTypically when we look at nature we exclude ourselves. Finally there is a book looking at people looking at animals.
Car Paleontology
Alessia AndreottiCars - autonomous, self driving, uncontrollable - are bound to become the animals of the future.
The Digital Life Project
Alejandro AlvarezResearchers are creating accurate 3D models of living organisms to preserve the heritage of life on Earth.
Landfills Cause Changes in Bird Migration
Margherita OlivoGarbage dumps may not be very attractive places for us but they sure are for animals. A study published in Science Advances shows how certain groups of storks modified (and …
The return of Rayfish Footwear?
NextNature.netRayfish Footwear was a fictional company that offered personalized sneakers crafted from genetically modified stingray leather. This online science fiction story allowed customers …
How emojis represent the past, present and future within Next Nature
Britta de VriesIt's that time of year again; the Unicode Emoji 13.0 has announced that 117 new emojis are to be implemented in the second half of 2020. It got us curious of what these new emojis …
Discussing non-human centered design with Kelvin Godee and Simon Wijrdeman
Eloïse PeredrukWhat if design began to put everything but the human first? The needs of the human not paramount to the design process, but instead the other entities that we cohabit planet earth …
Augmented Fish Reality
Koert van MensvoortAugmented Fish Reality is an interactive installation of five rolling robotic fish-bowl sculptures. These sculptures allow Siamese Fighting fish (Betta Splendons) to use …
PET project
Rolf Coppens"I love the idea of using liquid containers to make water animals. Contained/containing, trash/not-trash, like the jelly-fish or anemone: Living/non-living And I wanted some …
Call for Proposals: Designing for Next Nature
Nowadays, children know more corporate logo's and brands than bird or tree species. The average Western person has more worries about the instability of financial markets and …
Lion and giraffe fooling around
Rolf CoppensThis is the peculiar image of the week, sorry Koert ; ) Excuse my crap quality.
A hermit crab in a glass house
Koert van MensvoortNever thought I would ever empathize with a hermit crab. But somehow the 'situation' the creature is in, provides me with a feeling of recognition. According to this video marine …
Bionic Pinguins
Tijn KooijmansFesto Bionic Learning Lab demonstrates their new technologies inspired by nature. Another step towards artificial pets replacing extincted animals, or just an exposé of scientific …
Cyborg Insects
Koert van MensvoortScientists at the University of California created a neural implant for a beetle that gives them wireless control over the insect. Electrical signals delivered via the electrodes …
The World Without Technology
Kevin KellyI remember the smoke the most. That pungent smell permeating the camps of tribal people. Everything they touch is infused with the lingering perfume of smoke – their food, …
Transgenic Stingrays for Fashionable Feet
Allison GuyRayfish Footwear, a company based in Thailand, has recently produced what may be the world's first genetically modified stingray. This ray exhibits an unusual, colorful pattern …
Blue, Belgian and Beefy
Allison GuyThe Belgian Blue is a unique cattle breed that was developed quite accidentally in the late 1800s. An chance mutation lead the cattle to develop 'double muscling,' which occurs …
Inventing an Extinct Horse
Allison GuyAlong with the Heck cattle and Scottish Highlanders , another reconstructed species roams the Dutch dunes . The sturdy Konik horse , also known as the Polish primitive, is the …
Living Life Support
Allison GuyDesigner Revital Cohen imagines a future where life-support machines are replaced with life-support animals. In this scenario, a transgenic lamb is allowed to frolic in the fields …
Take your transgenic kids to the CPNH
Allison GuyThe Center for PostNatural History doesn't house the dinosaurs or dioramas of your run-of-the-mill natural history museum. Instead, it's the first museum dedicated exclusively to …
Broersen & Lukács – Mastering Bambi
Koert van MensvoortMedia artists Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács created a remake of the Disney classic Bambi from which they stripped all the inhabitants. The removal of the cuddly, …
Corn 2.0: Survival of the Cheapest
NextNature.netCongrats to Sean Serafini, the winner of our April Next Nature Spotter contest. While we received many images of fake nature , Sean's entry delves deeper into more diverse next …
Does Chocolate Milk Come From Brown Cows?
Gillis van de ZandeAlthough chocolate milk producing cows may sound silly, scientists are seriously analyzing the feasibility of the idea. Why not add genes of cocoa and sugar to a cow, in order to create a cow that produces sweet chocolate milk?
The Rise and Fall or Rayfish Footwear
Koert van MensvoortFor almost three years, we worked on a sneaker company that we knew would go bankrupt on the day it was founded. This is our coming out...
Bye Bye Barbed Wire: Cow-Mounted GPS Will Enable "Virtual Fencing"
Allison GuyA device that remotely controls cattle's movements promises to transform the American landscape.
Genetic Modification Could Prevent TB
Yunus Emre DuyarIt was announced this week that genetic modification allowed scientists to produce cattle resistant to tuberculosis.
Interview: Liam Young on Speculative Architecture and Engineering the Future
NextNature.netInterview with Liam Young on his work in speculative architecture, the future, and our role in nature as humans.
Forget Google Street View, Here's Cat Street View
Wei Lun WangJapan city has launched an online street view map to introduce the view of the city by a cat's perspective.
Teppanyaki from the In Vitro Aquarium
NextNature.netThese synthetic organisms from our In Vitro Aquarium are a hybrid between plants and animals. Would you eat them?
3D-Printed Shell to Save Tortoise's Life
Margherita OlivoA severely injured tortoise was saved by a team of doctors thanks to a 3D printed shell.
Re-introducing Extinct Species
Margherita OlivoExtinct European bisons are being reintroduced in parks. But what makes a national park?
Getting rid of that bit of unspoiled green
Sanne vander BeekThere it is. A hefty hen, with its head up high and its beak out. And a gigantic VR headset over its beady little eyes. What does this battery hen see? ‘An experience of a free …
Hello, superorganism
Koert van MensvoortWhen I was a kid, my parents took me to the beach every summer. We’d swim in the ocean and play on our inflatable raft in the surf. When the tide was low, I’d build a sand castle …
Talking Nonhuman Nonsense
Eloïse PeredrukNonhuman Nonsense is a research-driven design and art studio existing somewhere between utopia and dystopia. They wonder upon our relationship with the non-human, embracing …
Babybunny - stuffed pets as toys
Koert van MensvoortNowadays, young children are so used to the omnipresence of disposable toys. When their parents buy them a living pet animal they are unable to take care of it. Hamster tend to …
Designing for Next Nature (workshop report)
Koert van MensvoortThe extent to which new technologies are intervening with everyday life can hardly be underestimated. Virtual realities, nano- and biotechnology are increasingly providing new …
Holy Cow
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkAs a kid, I used to play around with toy animals made of plastic. You could stuff them and store other toys in their stomachs. Now living cows like the one in this movie start …
WiFi-enabled Ambient Rabbit
There may even come a moment that our connection with an industrially manufactured coke bottle may be richer and more mythical that our relation with a genetically analysed and …
Scientists want to create human-cow hybrid
Koert van MensvoortScientists in the UK applied for permission to create part-cow, part-human embryos for research aimed at treating diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The embryos created …
Snake robots
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe number of animals transformed into bots is increasing. In Japan they have created a new species to investigate ocean-life: this watersnake carries a camera, swims like an eal …
What to do with your cat?
Dr NaturalOur relation with the animals we consume is very remote nowadays. The meat in the supermarket is abstract and square. You might consider a vegetarian life style. No? Then you …
Cockroach Controlled Mobile Robot
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkBy putting this cockroach in control over a mobile robot, our perception of the animal is changed. Technology empowers the little creature you would normally squash under your …
Fake for Real: Reflections in the Cave
The Lascaux cave conserves some of the first images created by man, dating back to around 15,000 BC. The depiction of large animals on the cave walls is considered as a …
Fake for Real: Walking Leaf
Koert van MensvoortAlmost by default, we associate simulation with modern media: games and virtual reality. But what about the Phyllium giganteum ? It is not a leaf but an insect disguised as one. …
Out of Control
The Made and the Born: Neo-Biological civillization, written by Kevin Kelly, excerpt from Out of Control : The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World, …
Robotarium - Zoo for Artificial Life
Koert van MensvoortRobotarium X , the first zoo for artificial life, approaches robots very much in the way as we are used to look at life in old nature. We, humans, enjoy watching and studying …
Back to Nature?
Koert van MensvoortNow this is how you do it. First you take the meat of a hundred animals; chickens (19%), turkeys (17%). Secondly, you blend them in a large tank with water, mais, wheat, oil, fat, …
DNA Synthesizer
Arnoud van den HeuvelPlaying God? – "We are not playing..." After having seen this TED talk by Craig Venter , I came across a cynical yet clarifying comic (etcgroup.org) on his plans to build a new …
iDog
Dr NaturalOr you could get an iDog. This electronic animal with musical sensibilities. It sits on your desk and sings along with the music you are playing. Dog haters don't need to worry; …
Join the Neolithic Revolution
Koert van MensvoortWhy hunt? Why gather? Join the Neolithic revolution! Somewhere around 9500 BC proto-farmers began to select and cultivate food plants with desired characteristics. While in their …
Next Rabbit
SaraThis is not a 3-D-animation of a fictional creature, but an actual existing animal: the Angora Rabbit.
Puppy Bag
Koert van MensvoortWherever you go, always carry your puppy with you. In the category 'absurd-products-that-show-our-consumptive-attitude-towards-animals'. Buy one here , or here . See also: Catbag …
The Love Boat
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis is Petra. In 2006 she fell in love with a peddle boat designed to look like a swan and has never left its side. In winter, when swans should be flying southwards, the peddle …
A day in the Dutch dunes
Koert van MensvoortRecently, I had a nice day in the Dutch dunes with the people of Blocter.com , who show the people behind blogs. We closely investigated the Scottish highland cattle that acts as …
Animal Sweater
Rolf CoppensNature used to be an unpredictable place of mystery. Fascinated with nature’s untamed wildness, artists created animal and floral patterns as a celebration of this phenomenon of …
Do It Yourself Pet
sijmeImage: A. Sidorov Have you ever fantasized about creatures which carry the biggest smile? Or creatures which are so deeply covered with fur that you wish they were real? Good …
Josh Keyes
Rolf CoppensThere is something about the work of Josh Keyes. He might be the Bob Ross of our generation. He has site.
Next Nest
Koert van MensvoortWhen a bird builds a nest, we call it nature, but when a human puts up an apartment building, suddenly it’s culture? As if the dividing line between nature and culture wasn't …
Plastic Birds
Koert van MensvoortBird spotting is not a typical activity for us next nature explorers, yet occasionally we bump into some birds worth mentioning (remember the amazing copy-paste bird , rubber duck …
Dog Modding in China
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkAs a child, I already saw some great tiger potential in my cat and some shark-ish attitude in the behaviour of my goldfish. Personally, I think that since we started domesticating …
Revisiting Jurassic Park
Billy SchonenbergWhen searching for Next Nature in the world around us, one does not necessarily have to look at the present. The science fiction novel Jurassic Park, written in 1990 by the …
Tin Hybridization
Koert van MensvoortArtist José E. Rivera takes pleasure in the sculpting of animals from electronic infrastructure. Same artist who created the evolving mouse . We are unsure what to conclude from …
Wild bikes
sebastiaanBikes seem to be a new life form. They are everywhere in the city. On the street, in bike parking, but also just as plentiful on the bottom of channels, on top of street lanterns …
Birds Change Along with Us
MaikelMouraoA 'treasure in the trees' reveals the exchange of materials between man and animal. This beautiful house finch nest, made of natural resources and manmade garbage, demonstrates …
Black Wolves Have Dogs to Thank
Allison GuyBlack wolves should probably not exist. The same species as their gray relatives, these wolves have a genetic mutation that causes them to produces excess melanin, a pigment …
City Living Splits Up Blackbirds
Allison GuySome blackbirds have found city living so much fun (the theater scene! the restaurants!) that they have given up migrating south for the winter. Cities are usually warmer than the …
E.Coli produced Spider Silk
Stefan FinckenIn 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 …
Monkey See, Monkey Buy
Allison GuyYale researchers and advertising executives have created the first ad campaign aimed at animals. The targets in question are a group of captive capuchin monkeys with a taste for …
Monsanto's Technorhetoric Kills Corn
Allison GuyMega-agro-biotech corporation Monsanto recently denied that insects have developed resistance to their patented Bt corn . Injected with a bacterial gene toxic to corn rootworms, …
My Fetal Pony: Neoteny in Girls' Toys
Allison GuyIt's no secret that Mickey Mouse has evolved in response to consumer pressures. Once a violent river-rat, he became the boy scout of rodents with good looks to match. Steven Jay …
Plastic Planet
Koert van MensvoortWe tend to think of plastic as a cheap, inferior and ugly material used to make children’s toys, garden furniture and throwaway bottles. But as an experiment, imagine for a moment …
Spidergoats & Superskin
Stefan FinckenWhile 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 …
Typing Out Evolution
Allison GuyFrom the exhibit "What Machines Dream Of" in Berlin comes Life Writer , a work by Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau. As the participant types, letters are projected on a …
Would you care more if I was a Panda?
Erik SwaagstraA smart campaign by Ogilvy Paris for WNF shows that also the ‘non-cute’ animals need our help. via Fubiz
Better Than Nature?
Rachel ArmstrongAt the turn of the millennium, miniaturized canines acquired the cherished status of living, designer handbag ornaments. These teeny tiny photogenic doggies, which had been …
Escaped Pet Birds Teach Wild Cockatoos how to Talk
Koert van MensvoortIn some parts of Australia it is no exception to hear voices when there are no people near. The voices are the chatter of wild cockatoos that where taught words and sentences from escaped domesticated cockatoos.
One Generation in, Dolphins Still Transmit Human Tricks
Allison GuyDolphins in Port Adelaide, Australia, have been observed performing a remarkable trick : tail-walking, a trait so rare it has only been seen in the wild one other time. More …
Rayfish CEO Responds to Break-In by Animal Rights Activists
Koert van MensvoortRayfish CEO Raymond Ong recorded a video response in which he analyzes the controversy around his genetically engineered stingray leather sneaker. Highly recommended for nextnature connoisseurs.
"That Was Then. This is Now"
Alexandra Daisy GinsbergThe wunderkammer – the traditional repository of natural history curiosities and cultural relics – has been updated by the Center for PostNatural History in Pittsburgh, which …
Why It's Time to Calm Down about "Invasive" GM GloFish
Allison GuyIs the neon green tetra GloFish soon to be the florescent, transgenic terror of America's waterways? The internet hype machine has repeated ad infinitum the Washington Post's …
A Stroll Through the Bubbles of Chemicals and Men
Etienne TurpinA stunning pre-history of the anthropocene
GM Mosquitoes: No Olfaction, No Sting
Alessia AndreottiEngineering mosquitoes to ignore the scent of human flesh.
Invasive Crab Restores Damaged Habitat
Allison GuyA strange set of coincidences turn an invasive species into a hero
Loyal Lamps that Follow You Like Pets
Alessia AndreottiTwo lights that behave like pets, acting and reacting like autonomous creatures.
Pubic Lice (Possibly) Going Extinct Due to Brazilian Waxing
Allison GuyWith each swipe of the razor or rip of the waxing strip, the world has unwittingly been massacring one of its most familiar species. In what may be the first extinction caused by …
Brain Surgery For Goldfish
Alessia AndreottiThe tiny patient lying on the operating table is a goldfish.
Robot Cheetah Now Runs Free
Alessia AndreottiResearchers created a robo-feline able to run and bound while completely untethered.
Three Points in Support of In Vitro Meat
Alessia AndreottiThe top three aspects why people should support cultured meat.
Virtual Reality Headset for Chickens
Alessia AndreottiA virtual reality headset could give chickens the freedom to roam without the roaming.
Computer Generated… Errrmm?
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThis image, generated by a computer, portrays a representation of what seems to be some kind of squirrel-meets-sea-lion-meets-slug-type of creature.
Drone Operated by Honeybee Brain
Yunus Emre DuyarThe Green Brain Project aims to create drones that will think, act and sense like a bee.
Eventually, Drones Will Be Everywhere
Hessel HoogerhuisCity of Drones puts you in a first person view of a drone drifting through an abstract futuristic cityscape.
Experiencing Animal Vision Through Virtual Reality
Margherita OlivoEyes of the Animal is an interactive project that invites the public to an uncommon virtual reality setting conceived especially for experiences in actual forests, giving the opportunity to see the world as an insect would.
First Puppies Born by In Vitro Fertilization
Margherita OlivoThanks to the work of researchers at Cornell University (USA), for the first time a litter of puppies was born entirely from in vitro fertilization.
GM Salmon Approved for Consumption
Margherita OlivoTime ago we wrote about the fact that US Food and Drug Administration was considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered salmon. We have a verdict: from now on …
GM Pigs for Animal-to-Human Organ Transplant
Alessia AndreottiScientists have been trying to develop GM pigs that could be used to solve the shortage of organs for transplant patients.
Over 300 Sharks are Now on Twitter
Koert van MensvoortRecently 338 sharks in Western Australia subscribed to the microblogging service. They are now tweeting out where they are.
Wireless Controlled Mouse, the Animal!
Alessia AndreottiA remote-controlled LED chip can make a mouse walk in circles.
Animal Fauxtography
Alejandro AlvarezFake photography, or fauxtography, has been around since the invention of cameras and nature is one of the most popular subjects of dishonest photographers.
The "Dog" That Will Save Lives
Margherita OlivoA laboratory is developing a synthetic dog that will be used for surgery trials, saving many canine lives and changing the veterinary world.
Drones in Agriculture
Megan Ray NicholsHere's a look at how drones can and will impact the agriculture and farming industry.
Lost in the Forest? The Drones Will Find You
Daniel FragaResearchers are teaching drones to recognize and follow forest trails.
Meet the Farmer Drone
NextNature.netThe Farmer Drone is a hardworking drone that ploughs land, grows crops and milks the cows, all on the same day.
AI Tries to Decode Dolphins
Julie ReindlOver a four year project period, researchers will use artificial intelligence to understand the dolphin language, creating a dolphin dictionary.
GM Ants Show How Insect Societies Work
Julie ReindlScientists gene modify ants in order to find out more about their social behavior.
HUBOT: Take the Jobtest!
NextNature.netThe robots are coming! They’re getting smarter, cheaper and more reliable. How long will I have my job before a robot steals it? The industrial revolution made muscular power …
Lazy Worker Ants
Charlotte KuijpersA study reveals that about 40% of "worker" ants spend most of their days doing nothing, but those lazy ants make themselves useful in unexpected ways.
Opening HUBOT at DDW
NextNature.netThe robots have arrived! Yesterday we celebrated the launch of HUBOT , job agency for people and robots at MediaMarkt , as part of the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. Our virtual …
Tinder for Orangutans
Ruben BaartThe Apenheul primate park in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, has launched a four-year experiment to study how the primates make their mating choices.
On the prehistoric origins of modern sexuality
Ruben BaartLet’s talk about the most controversial of "m words"—monogamy. And let’s have this conversation with in mind its prehistoric origins. Our modern picture of prehistoric societies …
A mouse can scare the cat away
Koert van MensvoortAnimal Nextnature! Using an animal as part of your lego creation. A 'behaviour block' can track the behaviour of the animal inside. This behavior is the nused to drive the Lego …
ALAVs
Arnoud van den HeuvelThey make whale-like sounds, they feed, float and flock: Autonomous Light Air Vessels. video | alavs.com
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
Koert van Mensvoortby Richard Brautigan (1968) I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammels and computers live together in mutually programming harmony like pure …
Avian Android
jdthSculpture, android bird's voices, a mechanical reconstruction of organic life-forms, electronically controlled by Judith Fegerl Taking „The Chinese Nightingale", a tale of Hans …
Child Care Robot
Koert van MensvoortNEC corporation is developping a "Childcare Robot PaPeRo" capable to play with and watch over children. The Childcare Robot is capable of recognizing and verbally communicating …
Entry 2006 exhibition opened
Koert van MensvoortToday the Entry 2006 exhibition opened in the coalwashe building, Zollverein. For 100 days 'perspectives and visions in design' with over 300 exhibits from more than 20 countries …
Erkundungen im Nächste Natur (D)
Die Natur verändert sich mit uns (English version: Exploring Next Nature ) by Koert van Mensvoort , published in Entry Paradise, Neue Welten des Designs, Gerhard Seltman, Werner …
Featherless Chicken
Koert van MensvoortBehold the featherless chicken, created by Scientists at the genetics faculty at the Rehovot Agronomy Institute near Tel Aviv, Israel. The idea behind the development of this …
Furniture comes to life
Arnoud van den HeuvelWhen a dog walks, the leg that is put forward, is simultaniously followed by the diagonal-opposite leg (f.e. left/back+right/front or right/back+left/front). Wouter Scheublin …
GloFish
Rolf CoppensA tropical fish that fluoresces bright red is set to become the first genetically modified pet to go on sale in the US. Alan Blake and colleagues at Yorktown Technologies …
Hoax Dragon
Arnoud van den Heuvel"The baby dragon, in a sealed jar, was discovered with a metal tin containing paperwork in old-fashioned German of the 1890s. (...) Some scientists believe that dragons, though …
intelligent bricks
Arnoud van den HeuvelToys are growing up so we don't have to. Lego introduces: "mindstorms"...
Lifestyle pets
Rolf CoppensALLERCA has produced the world's first scientifically-proven hypoallergenic cats. These cats allow some of the millions of people with feline allergies to finally enjoy the love …
Navirobo - GPS Navigation Bear
Dr NaturalThis is only available in Japan. The Navirobo Teddy Bear has a GPS module, sit it on your dashboard and let the navigating begin. Navirobo will point you in the correct direction …
PictoOrphanage
Koert van MensvoortPictoOrphanage opened its gates to all abandoned creatures we thought should be saved from falling into oblivion. these helpless, lonely waifs and strays could be found …
pour des dents d'un blanc éclatant et saines
Dr NaturalAnother peculiar image by jeroen diepenmaat
Real Nature is not Green
Koert van MensvoortAt the edge of the woods along the motorway near the Dutch town of Bloemendaal, there stands a mobile telephone mast disguised as a pine tree. This mast is not nature: at best, it …
Roachbot
Rolf CoppensAfter the nuclear war, the only one that will be left are the roaches. This guy thought it was a good idea to start building cars for them. Watch the video on Youtube . Also watch …
Social Robots
Koert van MensvoortSmile! We are your friends. Robots will play an important role in our future society. We need to ensure that robots are socially compatible with us in order for society to accept …
Surreal toys
Arnoud van den HeuvelThese and more surreal toys / sculptures are collected by the Underground Beinart collective (Australia). beinart.org
Robo-carp
Rolf CoppensScientists in Japan have developed a koi robot that swishes around in water just like the real, fishy thing, and does stuff real koi can't: swim in reverse and rotate in place. …
Virtual Miss Germany
basiakScientists are looking for the most beautiful woman in Germany... At the 2002 Miss Germany pageant, the eight finalists were photographed from the same angle without makeup. The …
Wildgruen
Dr NaturalMandy Meißner's "Wildgruen", a plant that can move and communicate. In her view, plants need to be freed from their isolation, both in the way that they can only lean towards the …
Withus Oragainstus
Rolf CoppensJust read this article on Darpa 's work on using bugs for war effort . They are planning to make a kind of insect cyborg to use in the army. The Defense Advanced Research Projects …
Bisected Brontosaurus in a Water-Filled Case
Koert van MensvoortChinese artist Xu Zhen created the monumental untitled sculpture depicted above (sorry I am such a bad photographer) for "NONO", a show without explanations or preconceptions, I …
Blinkybugs
Arnoud van den HeuvelBlinkybugs are small, simple, electromechanical bugs that respond to stimulus such as movement, vibrations, or air currents. They are constructed by hand from LEDs, wire, and …
Brainbow Mice
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn the 1960s, scientists found that a particular jellyfish makes a protein that glows, known as green fluorescent protein. In the 1990s, using genetic engineering, researchers …
Confetti chicken
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis weeks peculiar image was taken this summer by a friend of mine. He went to a birdmarket in Esfahan, Iran and noticed that discrimination takes many forms; only blond chicks …
Designer pets
Rolf CoppensIf your house just isn't big enough to have a leopard, you can allways buy these 20.000 dollar cats. Nailcaps are included to prevent scratches on the matching cat furniture. I …
Fire fighting beetle - OLE
Arnoud van den HeuvelJust like centipedes OLE can roll up into a ball when danger threatens and retract its six legs. Its heat-resistant shell is made of a ceramic-fibre compound which can withstand …
FishBowl - Ready made Meal
Koert van MensvoortAfter cooking lobsters alive, picking your own living fish in a restaurant and serving your rabbit for Christmas dinner, now comes a wonderful new creation: the FishBoil. This …
Flat Pets
Arnoud van den HeuvelHere's an animal-friendly alternative for Tinkebells Cat Bag and it scares the crap out of mice! There's also an instant infant and a cuddly fish bowl . These cardboard-pets were …
French Aids Campaign
Koert van MensvoortThis French Aids campaign is a wonderful example of biomimicmarketing (using images of old nature for propaganda or marketing purposes). They may be disturbing but the message …
Giant Plush Microbes
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe bear is a wild animal, a predator and hostile to man. Yet somewhere in the beginning of the 20th century someone caught the idea of making a cuddly toy out of it. Perhaps …
Guys and Dolls
Rolf CoppensGoogle Video is no longer in operation. Sorry for the inconvenience "It's a high form of masturbation" A RealDoll is a realistic life-size sex doll that cost more than an average …
Hamster Shredder
Arnoud van den HeuvelTom Ballhatchet introduces mice and hamsters into the officegarden. tomballhatchet.com
Ladybug cleans the Toilet
Dr NaturalA bug that does the cleaning? This 1-meter (39-inch) tall, 1.35-meter (53-inch) long prototype robot ' named "Lady Bird" ' is designed to clean public restrooms at highway rest …
Pleo - the resurrected robot dino
Koert van MensvoortEver since Rosie from 'The Jetsons,' robots have been the next big thing, but the business case was never there. So far, companion robots have been a big flop in the market , but …
Spiders on Drugs
Dr NaturalIn the 1960s, Dr. Peter Witt gave drugs to spiders and observed their effects on web building. Meet the cocaine, LSD, and the crack spider. Corny Alert!
The Professors Doppelgänger Robot
Dr NaturalAlthough there are numerous researchers out there creating humanoid robots, none are as explicit about the close relation between anthropomorphism and narcissism as professor …
The Top 10 New Organisms of 2007
Dr NaturalGenetic engineering isn't just for scientists in ivory towers or corporate R&D labs anymore. Researchers are still creating new mice and crops every week, but the tools and …
Tickle Massage Robot
Koert van MensvoortTickle is a small robot that walks on the human body to generate a pleasant, tickling sensation.It has two motors and rubber feet for a good grip on the skin. When it encounters a …
Who wants to drive in a Fish?
Dr NaturalBehold the BoxFish, Mercedes' bionic concept car. This tropical fish is outstandingly streamlined. Its engineers were able to achieve a wind drag coefficient of just 0.06 in the …
Pet dreamhouse
Arnoud van den HeuvelAnyone can build the house of their dreams via scaryideas.com The previous images are of course created for commercial purposes, but just take a look at the domestics below and …
Bacteria That Eat Waste & Shit Petrol
Koert van MensvoortEnergy problem? Why not genetically alter bacteria to have them provide 'renewable petroleum'. Crude oil is only a few molecular stages removed from the acids normally excreted by …
Big Dog got puppies
Arnoud van den HeuvelWe posted this fella two years ago but the guys at Boston Dynamics haven't been sitting still. Improvements have been made and Big Dog got puppies! Little Dog (a learning robot …
Blobman
Koert van MensvoortThis landscape is titled 'I can not help the way I feel' and was created by John Isaacs . The way in which the flesh grows, erupts and engulfs the body can be seen as a metaphor …
Build a better being
Koert van MensvoortWill Wright's hugely successful games SimCity and The Sims let players shape the structure of urban areas and the lives of virtual humans; his upcoming game, Spore , lets them …
Eethapnl
Arnoud van den HeuvelPeculiar image created by Matías Lecaros (Santiago, Chile), promoting that famous boardgame . Inspired -of course- by Damien Hirsts Some Comfort Gained from the Acceptance of the …
Elephant Artist
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis weeks peculiar image was made by Elephant Artist Sri Siam at the Lamphang Elephant Camp in Thailand. It is hard to tell whether the elephants actually know what they are …
Evolving mouse
Koert van MensvoortJosé E. Rivera emailed us this image of his strangely evolving mouse. We are clueless on what motives or evolutionary pressure a computer mouse might have to transform itself into …
Fake for Real: Cartoon Rats
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn 2000 on a Japanese auction site , 20 real live Pokemon Pikachus were offered for 925 million dollars. Roughly translated: We capture each one after your order, so we guarantee …
Fake for Real: Dolly, the Cloned Sheep
Koert van MensvoortRemember Dolly, the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult somatic cell? Her birth was announced in 1997. People tend to see clones as exact copies of the originals, …
Flying Penguins
Koert van MensvoortLast week, the BBC reported a colony of penguins that had gained the ability to fly (video) . The penguins were reported to fly thousands of miles and spend the winter in the …
Futuristic Bird Dwellings
Koert van MensvoortEvery fashionable self-conscious modern bird needs one of these futuristic dwellings, no? Designed by Kevin Sethapun.
Human animal hybrid
Koert van MensvoortThis peculiar, half-human creature could be your cousin. No really; it is a sculpture by Patricia Piccinini entitled The Young Family , which, in turn, is part of a larger …
Humans Are the Sex Organs of Technology
Written by Kevin Kelly , published in The Technium . I claim that technology has its own agenda. What is the evidence that technology as a whole, or the technium as I call it, is …
Hybrid Carp with human face
Koert van MensvoortI never expected anthropomorphobia to be evoked by a fish! This hybrid species fish was born between a carp and a leather carp in the pond of a personal house in Chongju. Each of …
Hyper Fish
Koert van MensvoortWhile swimming in second life, India Leigh came across this cool lion fish. See also: Redefining Nemo , Augmented Fish Reality , Who wants to drive a fish? .
Just right for the garden: Mini-Cow
Koert van MensvoortRising supermarket prices are persuading hundreds of families to turn their back gardens into mini-ranches stocked with miniature cattle. For between £200 and £2,000, people can …
Killer Robots
Koert van MensvoortRule #1: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Remember Isaac Asimov's classic three laws of robotics ? Surely thats …
Meet the Worms, Viruses and Trojans
Koert van MensvoortNow there is an interesting biomimicmarketing technique we had not seen before. For their new marketing campaign internet security company Messagelabs worked with digital artist …
Mice cloned from freezer – Mammoths next?
Dr NaturalIs the second coming of the woolly mammoth near? Researchers at Japan’s Institute of Physical and Chemical Research ( RIKEN ), who have successfully cloned mice from carcasses …
PacMan's Skull
Koert van MensvoortPacMan's skeleton is our peculiar object of the week. It was created by Le Gentil Garcon , in collaboration with Fransois Escuilia, palaeontologist, from the comparative …
Paradise by the Laptop Light
Paradise by the Laptop Light is a next nature event with short films, speedlectures, special guests and one laptop. It will be held on 12 September 2008 16:30-17:30, as the …
Plastic Flamingos Saved From Extinction
Koert van MensvoortDid you know there are more plastic flamingos in the USA than real ones? Plastic flamingos are widely considered to be the stereotypical example of lawn kitsch – the American's …
Popple
Koert van MensvoortWith her babybunnies series provocateur/artist/designer Tinkebell aims to provide an analysis of the consumptive attitude people have in relation to their pets. This latest work – …
Popple II
Koert van MensvoortMake no mistake. The children of the 80's are the bioengineers of today. ://nextnature.net
Roboswift, Eyes in Disguise
Arnoud van den HeuvelWith its 50 cm wing span and 80 grams of weight, this high tech bird is ready to infiltrate swift surveillance squads next summer. Aerospace engineering students at TU Delft , …
Robot asimo conducts concert
Dr NaturalAt a recent Yo-Yo Ma concert at the Detroit Opera House, Honda's ASIMO robot took the stage and conducted. Blame Honda when the robots take over. Thanks Paul .
A robot that controls your remote controls
Dr NaturalConfused with the pile of remote controls in your house? Now here is an idea: get a robot to control them. Researchers at Toshiba have developed a talking robot, named ApriPoko, …
Robotic Red Snapper
Koert van MensvoortJust because you're feeling paranoid, doesn't mean the fish aren't actually spying on you. Engineers at the University of Kitakyushu created an underwater survey robot that looks …
Robotic R)evolution
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn 1921 the word "Robot" (meaning "labor") was introduced by Czech writer Karel ?apek . In his play "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots), robots seem happy to work for humans. …
Shopping for deer
Koert van MensvoortGary Barwin – unsurprisingly from Canada – created this image in response to this weeks peculiar image . The good man even went on and wrote a little poem with it. Yes dear …
Simulacra for Imposters
Arnoud van den Heuvel“Transformation” is the title of the video by a group of bio–industrialists called Foster Farms . They also sell chicken products, but that’s just to fund their quest for fair …
Skeleton Mouse
Koert van MensvoortThis rather illustrative but nonetheless peculiar object of the week is for all you Goths out there. Surely Douglas Engelbart – who invented the computer mouse in 1967 – would not …
Some Kids Don't Like Chicken
Koert van MensvoortBut they love dinosaur! Judge for yourself whether this dinosaur nugget product is supposed to give kids a history lesson on the evolutionary relation between dinosaurs and birds …
Teddy's Atonomy
Arnoud van den HeuvelWool sculptor Stephanie Metz researched the meaning of 'cute' through the morphology of some Teddy bear species. Related posts: PacMan's Scull | Animatus
The copypaste Bird
Koert van MensvoortOne might think this video is just another witty flick made by some media artist. It is not. This is a real bird living in Southern Australia. In order to attract females, the …
The Order Electrus
Koert van Mensvoort"Nature adapts, even to human actions that seem to destroy everything. The amazing power of evolution has given birth to a new species of insect. Their ideal habitats are old …
Effects of citrus smell and mosquito noise
SaraRecently, two new inventions have been developed. One, the mosquito-buzzer produces a 5 or 6 KHz buzz, which is (or should be) only audible for people under 25 years old. A …
Untitled Sound Objects
Jan van der AsdonkPe Lang and Zimoun have created a range of sound objects, also referred to as the Untitled Sound Objects . These sound objects are mainly triggered by simple vibration motors, …
Voyage of the Bacteria Bots
Dr NaturalThe 1966 science-fiction movie Fantastic Voyage famously imagined using a tiny ship to combat disease inside the body. With the advent of nanotechnology, researchers are inching …
Want privacy? Use pigeon messaging
Koert van MensvoortOur society seems to be driven by an obsession of gathering personal data. Yes, they say it is for your own good, so we willingly collaborate by filling in our most intimate …
Wood of logo's
Koert van MensvoortA wood of logo's. Installation created by Karl Grandin – yup, same guy made the nextnature.net wallpaper– at the powershow in Paradiso, Amsterdam 2005. See also: Animal Sweater .
A More Realistic Zoo
Koert van MensvoortGoing to the zoo is a favorite summer past-time. Visitors to the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna will see lots of animals in recreated ‘natural’ habitats. Except this summer, along with …
Another Skeleton Car
Koert van MensvoortThis one is kinda sporty! Again created by Jitish Kallat – this emerging indian artist must have a whole skeleton-automotive-industry in place by now? Related: Aquasaurus , …
Anthropomorphic 3d webcam
Dr NaturalThis new 3D webcam with two cameras spaced approximately as far apart as human eyes is our anthropomorphic object of the week. Can you feel it, watching you? The little brother …
Aquasaurus
Koert van MensvoortThis skeleton truck was dug up created by Jitish Kallat . Related: Skeleton mouse , Animatus , Pacman’s skull .
Bacteria that Turn CO2 into Energy
Koert van MensvoortWe’ve written earlier about man–made bacteria that eat waste & shit petrol . How about a genetically modified bacteria that can eat CO2 and excrete methane that could power …
BioStream
Arnoud van den HeuvelA renewable energy technology company in Australia designed this power generation system inspired by the shape of the tailfins of sharks, tuna and mackerel. The currents on the …
Craig Venter – Catalyst of evolution
Koert van MensvoortIf the six hour crash course on synthetic genomics is a bit too much for you, there is always a more snappy TED lecture in which Craig Venter ponders on whether we can create new …
Dolphin fitted with prosthetic fin
SelbyTyre manufacturing company has come to the rescue of Fuji the dolphin who was stricken by a mysterious life threatening illness and lost her fin. She caught a disease that begun …
Excuse me, I am lost
Dr NaturalSo, if you don't have a clue what is going on here, imagine how that horned cow on the electricity pole must feel. Extrapeculiar image of the week.
Flyvertising
Arnoud van den HeuvelTo draw attention to a stand at the publishing house of the Frankfurter Buchmesse , a publisher hired some flies. The paper mini-banners -- attached with self-dissolving wax -- …
Forefather Ox cloned to revive delicious Steak
Koert van MensvoortDelicious retro-future meat from Japan. Food technology in the overdrive. Japanese researchers successfully cloned what is believed to have been the forefather ox of Gifu …
How to Grow a Sneaker
Koert van MensvoortNo silly. Of course sneakers can't be grown from transforming Koi Karpers. This is merely an fictional piece by Yoske Nishiumi. But then again, do you have any idea where your …
Meat Pork
Koert van MensvoortThis meat pig was reconstructed by Ton Meijdam . See also: Get vegetarian teeth and eat less meat , Million Dollar Burger , Back to where it came from ,
Melting polar bear reveals a metal skeleton
Koert van MensvoortUnsure how this melting polar bear ice sculpture created by artist Mark Coreth fits in Next Nature mythology. The art piece was presented last week in Copenhagen and is sponsored …
Nocturnal Life of Diurnal Birds
Matthijs.KwakEnglish Robins are forced to sing their song during the night. Not because they have figured out that music just sounds better in the dark, but because they can't compete with the …
Norwegian forest cat on batteries
Koert van MensvoortRobots are penetrating our homes... disguised as cats? On July 30, Sega Toys releases an el-cheapo simulation cat toy for robot cat lovers with allergies or pet-unfriendly …
Reprogramming Skin Cells into Stem Cells
Arnoud van den HeuvelA major breakthrough in the world of genetics: Researchers have successfully reprogrammed skin cells into stem cells. Using a technique called iPS cell reprogramming (developed in …
Robot costume
Koert van MensvoortTiger meets tiger. Apparently some of the owners of a vacuum cleaning robot feel the need to 'costumize' their device. We are now awaiting the witty bio-robotics company that …
Rubber Duck XL
Koert van MensvoortThis gigantic rubber duck was created by artist Florentijn Hofman and is currently traveling around the world. Unsure how the over-sized bird is related to our explorations in …
Sion Chicken
Arnoud van den HeuvelHow SecondLife ends up to be a virtual chicken farm? Watch Patrick Davison explain about the rise of Next Nature on the social platform. Image by Kaie Magic | Related: Confetti …
Steam Horse
Koert van MensvoortThis remarkable proposal for a steam powered street locomotive was invented by Mathewson in 1876. According to the inventor the goal was to make a machine resembling a horse in …
Tattooed Goldfishes
Koert van MensvoortIf a tattooed pig is a bit too much for you, why not go for a tattooed goldfish? They bring you lost of luck and are available Chinese characters such as “Wealth, Dragon, …
Branded Pigs
Koert van MensvoortWhat are these people doing? Of course! They are tattooing a pig with the pattern of the luxury bag brand Louis Vuitton. For those who want something more special than the mundane …
The Hermaphrodite Effect
Florian Conradi and Michelle ChristensenAccording to research carried out by scientists from the Columbia Environmental Research Centre , sewage water containing hormones and pesticides caused by human consumption is …
This way for Survival
Koert van MensvoortCulture fakes nature? An ultralight plane piloted by an Operation Migration team member is guiding whooping cranes from Wisconsin to their winter nesting grounds in Florida. For …
Triceracopter
Koert van MensvoortThe Triceracopter is half Triceratops, half helicopter. If dinosaurs and technology evolved at the same time, this is what the helicopter might have look like? Built as a …
Bad Panda
Koert van MensvoortBiomimicmarketing wars: While the WWF has worked for years to market the Panda as a vulnerable, cute and cuddly animal, the Egyptian cheese brand Panda needs only five commercials …
Beware of the Virtual Squirrels
Koert van MensvoortKasey McMahon and Derek Doublin demonstrate the tension between people and their environment through the eyes of its non-human inhabitants. Beware of the Virtual Squirrels ! The …
BioPong
Ties van de WerffTechno-artists love insects. Especially their unpredictable behaviour. Eindhoven (NL) based design studio Ehdv used tracking software and connected some camera’to a bunch of wood …
BioPong II
Ties van de WerffThis time no technological enhanced roosters, dogs, cats or wood lice, but sheep! The famous viral Extreme Shepherding by The Baaa-Studs.
Bird + Subwoofer
Michael KluverThe Bell Isle Zoo is one of the examples of the decay of the once great city of Detroit. Situated on an island in the Fleming Channel, the zoo was shut down years ago because of …
Computer versus Bacteria: Round Two
Billy SchonenbergLast year, scientists managed to use the bacteria Escherichia coli to solve a mathematical problem , described in this research . This year, the building blocks of a computer are …
Cows as superior species
Arnoud van den HeuvelLet's slightly move back to the NextNature theme with an amusing video by Cyriak . And if that doesn't convince you of cows being the superior species... this video most certainly …
Craig Venter unveils 'Synthetic Life'
Luuk SchipperheynCraig Venter announces what might be a historic milestone in the nature caused by people. For 15 years, Craig Venter and his team of scientists have tried to synthesize life from …
Cuddly Scooters
Arnoud van den HeuvelWhy do we grow attached to things? Patricia Piccinini captured it well in this peculiar work: The Stags - 2008 (Culture becomes nature) The Nest - 2006 Thicker than Water - 2007 …
Debugged: 'Graphic Design Bugs'
Michael KluverThe Eindhoven-based design team ' Edhv ' made an installation to turn creepy crawlers into genuine graphic designers. By letting crickets, woodlice, ants and many other insects …
Dutch start Hunting again thanks to Supermarket Soccer Mascotte
Teun CasteleinIn Holland people go crazy for soccer, especially now that the national team has reached the World Cup final. We gather everything that's orange – our shirt color – as the …
Engineered Bacteria heal Cracks in Walls
Koert van MensvoortResearchers have designed bacteria that can produce a special glue to knit together cracks in concrete structures. Technews Daily reports the genetically modified microbes have …
FluDOC – Glowing Bacteria Show if You Have Influenza
Koert van MensvoortBacteria are traditionally perceived as infectious and unhealthy, but that is about to change. This week designer Jan van der Asdonk graduated from the Next Nature Lab at the TU/e …
Genetically Modified Salmon moves to Kitchen Table
Koert van MensvoortThe US Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered animal that people would eat — salmon that can grow at twice the normal …
Glamor & Oil
Koert van MensvoortIn response to the latest oil spill famed photographer Steven Meisel made a shoot for the Italian Vogue (the only fashion magazine in the world worth reading, really) that …
Grow-a-NanoRaptor
Koert van MensvoortNow here is an example of the fusion between the made and the born , most kids would crave for. Much better than the robotic dino toy. Designed by evolution! Hopefully this …
Half Life
Koert van MensvoortMeet the next species. Director David Lea's wondrous fantasy of remixed biodiversity after nuclear meltdown. Made for Greenpeace.
Hamster Powered Mobile Phonecharger
Michael KluverWe would call this a sustainable technology if only the average pet's carbon footprint wouldn't be comparable to that of an SUV .
Harddrive on legs
Koert van MensvoortDrive Legs is a portable hard drive which stands up if liquid is spilled near it. Created by James Chambers , who is experimenting with giving products defense mechanisms to …
Injured Cat gets Bambi-style prosthetics
Koert van MensvoortA cat that had its back feet severed by a combine harvester has been given two prosthetic limbs in a pioneering operation by a UK vet. The custom-made implants that "peg" the …
Let the Bacteria do the Cleaning
Koert van MensvoortDusting furniture and floors should be history in forty years time, as special bacteria in a yet to develop cleaning product will be eating the dirt. The speculative cleaning …
Logo landscape
JurrianAs you walk through the corporate jungle you notice that it is a hectic place, but sometimes it can be quiet and peaceful. Then you'll see pumas next to crocodiles and bunny …
Mad Cow Motorcycle
Koert van MensvoortWhat do you get when you combine bike parts, an electric motor, and a cow skeleton? Our peculiar object of the week was created by artist Billie Grace Lynn . Seen at Museum of Art …
Monitoring your computer's activity like a frog pond
Koert van MensvoortMulti-touch designer and developer Richard Monson-Haefel considers sound as an important part of our user interfaces. As an application of " Calm Technology " which revolves …
Nomadic Plants
Koert van MensvoortNomadic Plants are a species assembled from a group of robotic-electronic-biological organisms living in symbiosis in order to survive in habitats affected by human activity. The …
Remote Control Mouse
Koert van MensvoortMind control for beginners: A mouse expressing ChR2 channels in its neurons starts running when it receives blue light in its motor cortex. Unsure what applications the …
Robo-fly
Arnoud van den HeuvelWaiter, there's a robot in my soup! Weighing only 60 milligrams, with a wingspan of three centimeters, robo-fly's tiny movements are modeled on those of a real fly. While much …
Robosaurus eats Cars for Breakfast
Koert van MensvoortThe Robosaurus is the only airplane eating, fire breathing robot on the planet. Pity the thing is merely build for entertainment purposes. Perhaps this thing could finally solve …
Runaway Robots Hunted by the Mammals They Were Designed to Replace
Zack GottliebLast week, the U.S. Navy announced that four of their “ REMUS 100 ” unmanned underwater vehicles sailed off-radar and stopped responding to commands. The ‘bots were part of a …
Sea Breacher
Arnoud van den HeuvelA relatively new kind of marine species is called "Seabreacher" . These watercraft vessels started appearing from 1997 and have been evolving at a rapid pace. Seabreachers enable …
Self Catching Fish
Koert van MensvoortResearchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Hole, Massachusetts, are testing a plan to train fish to catch themselves by using a sound broadcast to attract them into …
Twitwee Clock
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkHaroon Baig from Germany has figured out a way to key up the amount of 50+ Twitter addicts. This progressive nostalgic cuckoo device displays new tweets from any twitter stream or …
A bacteria of a different color
Allison GuyIn 2009, undergraduates at the University of Cambridge worked with scientists and artists to engineer E. coli into E. chromi , a new type of bacteria that secretes a range of …
A Bug's Afterlife
Allison GuyWhen fruit flies die, they don't go to heaven, but they do get to go to outer space. At least that's the conceit of artist HsienYu Cheng's Collector: Afterlife , which zaps bugs …
Augmented Cat beats Dog
Koert van MensvoortSupersmart cat beats pitt-bull with a little help of an electric vacuum cleaning robot.
Blinky – Does what we want it to do
Sebastiaan WolzakIn the short movie Blinky, on a boy and his robot, director Ruari Robinson reflects on our daily dealings with technology and its risks. Alex is a child growing up in a family …
Breeding QR codes
Koert van MensvoortYou look at the great dane and wonder what information the QR codes on its pelt might contain. You point your smart phone camera at the dog and realize you’ve been hit by a …
Bugged Bugs
Stefan FinckenSome of you might remember the Next Nature article by Rolf Coppens called Withus Oragainstus . Since then there have been occasional newsreports on cyborg insects. For instance …
Cheiracanthium drives a Mazda
Allison GuyIn March, Mazda recalled 65,000 cars, not because of any structural faults in the vehicle, but because the engineers had inadvertently created the perfect habitat for a tiny …
City Planning with Bright Bacteria
Allison GuyRenegade 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 …
Entoforms
Bastiaan EkelerArtist 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 …
Evolution of the Chicken
Koert van MensvoortFrom Dinosaur to primitive bird to supermarket discount. Although chickens thrive as a species – in the sense that billions of them roam the earth bio-industry – we doubt if the …
Evolutionary Janitors
Allison GuyWe normally think of polluted water as the source of disease, not the cure for it. The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, affectionately known as the Super Fun Superfund , is one of the …
Fly Paper Clock
Koert van MensvoortBionic horror by designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau , who have created a clock that traps insects on flypaper before depositing them into a vat of bacteria. The resulting …
Hallucinogenic Reindeer Moments
Natalie DixonCan art change perceptions more than drugs? An art project which was on show in Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof allowed 12 free-roaming reindeer in the former railway station creating …
Hungry Birds
TimoA while ago I wrote a post about birds which tried to adapt to the city by singing louder and in different tones than before. Now it seems the birds have taken this adaptation to …
Hunter-Gatherer
Koert van MensvoortDifferent totems, same rituals. Peculiar image of the week by Walter Robinson .
Is it a Plane? Is it a Bird?
Koert van MensvoortThe zoomorphic designers of Festo , whom you might know from the robot penguins and a robotic elephant trunk , now managed to decipher the flight of birds. Their prototype is …
Meet the New Meat
Koert van MensvoortWhat do you think of lab-grown meat? "Yuck" might be your first reaction. One day, however, it could become the environmentally friendly alternative for breeding cows and pigs for …
Nature will Remember
Gabi RasIn this commercial, the sheep knows that the Peugeot has been made dirty by the splashing mud. Then it proceeds by cleaning it. Slogan: Nature will remember. We know that this …
Pixelated Nature
Koert van MensvoortWhat happens if your childhood experience of your environment has been solely through video games? According to artist Shawn Smith, "pixels became a sort of map from which to …
Playing with Microbes – Biotic Games
Koert van MensvoortStanford researchers are developing 'biotic games' involving paramecia and other living organisms. So far, they have created three games that mimic classic video games. The …
Progressive Nostalgic Message Service
Koert van MensvoortDigital pigeon post its private, peaceful, none-polluting and secure. Peculiar image of the week. Via Rising Tensions . Thanks Marco .
Sympathy for the Device
Robin PohlTweenbots are small robots that depend on the kindness of strangers. They are only able to move straight forward and do this constantly. Once they get stuck in a hole or at a …
The Amazing Technicolor Dream Ant
Allison GuyA scientist in Mysore, India has figured out how to color-code his backyard ants. Mohamed Babu's wife noticed that the ants' abdomens turned white after drinking milk, so it was …
The Cat Parasite that Sells Motorcycles
Allison GuyThe protozoa Toxoplasma gondii makes an unobtrusive home in nearly every warm-blooded species, but it's prolific life is limited: Toxo can only reproduce in cat stomachs. The …
The Institute for Digital Biology
Arnoud van den Heuvel" The Institute for Digital Biology researches next steps in the evolution of the internet, where websites and services develop into living creatures ." This scenario lives in the …
The Pigeon that Shat the Golden Soap
Allison GuyEver wished you could take a shower with pigeon poop? Artist Tuur van Balen proposes changing pigeons from flying rats to cleaning agents. A speculative, specially engineered …
The Search for the "Real" Thanksgiving
Allison GuyThanksgiving is fake-for-real. While it's true that there was a minor harvest feast in 1621, held by English immigrants and Wampanoag Indians, the event was never celebrated …
Think Breast is Best? Try Udder
Allison GuyScientists in China have created transgenic cows that produce 'human' milk. The researchers boosted the fat content of the milk and added three types of proteins, unique to …
Timon and Pumbaa
Koert van MensvoortMore real than you think. Peculiar image of the week. Via . Thanks Ton .
Traditional Thanksgiving Meat
Marco van BeersFood technology in the overdrive: Pork molded in the shape of a piglet.
Using Pigeons as Protestors
Allison GuyArtist Jaroslav Kyša has invented a novel form of social protest . By scattering seed in front of targets in London, he can attract droves of pigeons that disrupt shoppers and …
What Robots dream of...
Koert van MensvoortYou may think it's a cliché, but deep down inside robots want to be birds and fly high in the sky. Hooray for the good people of Festo , that demonstrate at TED how they turn the …
Why Do We Love Pandas?
Natalie DixonThey remind us of ourselves We love their dexterity - thanks partly to that "pseudo thumb", which functions as a sixth digit. It's in the eyes We love their big eyes because it …
YouTube preserves unmediated Nature
Allison GuyOn Youtube, there's a whole sub-genera of safari videos that show, in gruesome detail, what exactly it means to live and die in Old Nature. The above film is a particularly …
A Space-Faring Backup for Earth's Biota
Allison GuyElon Musk, the chief executive of spacecraft company SpaceX, believes we need to reinvigorate popular interest in space colonization, not just to boldly go where no man has gone …
Adorably Endangered Kitten Born to Domestic Cat Surrogate
Allison Guy"Crystal", an endangered black-footed cat , was recently born to a domestic cat surrogate at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species . The birth was achieved using a …
Activist Release Transgenic Stingrays in the Ocean
NextNature.netThis morning we received an astounding video from a group of animal right activist that broke in at Rayfish Footwear, the Thai based fashion brand that creates $1500 personalized sneakers from genetically engineered stingray leather.
Army Protected Organic Foods
Simone KochOver the last few decades, the public has been – and still is – creating awareness on the values of organically produced foods. For many foodies an important value of organic …
Bio-engineered Football
Marco van BeersWith the knowledge that footballs were once made of pig's bladder and that in 2006 the first artificial bladder was transplanted into a patient, artist John O’Shea designed the …
Bioinspired Robojelly Can Swim Forever
JenniferScientists have developed a biomimetic robot that will be able to swim forever, since its artificial muscles are powered by water. And since Robojelly lives underwater, it will …
Bunny Doesn't Grow on Trees
Allison GuyHaving trouble getting the kids to eat their fruits and vegetables? Try turning their 5-a-day into a trendy, collectible toy. We've seen Buddha fruit and square watermelons …
Cigarettes: Bad for You, Good for Birds
Allison GuyBirds use whatever they can get their beaks on to build nests, including cigarette butts. Surprising new research from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México shows that …
Dan Barber on the Ultimate Fish Farm
Koert van MensvoortChef Dan Barber discusses a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu? With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles the discovery of a unique …
Dumpster Fish the Future of Farming
Allison GuyCities have seen guerilla gardens, rooftop honey production, and fire escape chicken coops. Now, urban farmers may be adding aquaculture to the mix. Headed by ex-banker …
Eating In-Vitro: Kitchen Meat Incubator
Koert van MensvoortThe Kitchen Meat Incubator does for home cooking what the electronic synthesizer did for the home musician. It provides its users with a set of pre-programmed samples that can be …
Enjoy Udder Milk
Koert van MensvoortImaginary infomercial on the hypernatural udder cows, optimized for milk production
Featured Page #01: Hypernature
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDuring the coming weeks, we will present a selection of our favourite pages from the Next Nature book . To kick the series off, we’ll start with a spread about hypernature; the …
Frying Nemo
Koert van MensvoortImage consumption in the overdrive. Peculiar image of the week. Created by Erin Murphy, Victoria Bellavia, Yong Jun Lee & Sanggun Park . Thanks Jeroen van der Meij.
Hermit Crabs Can Live Like Kings Again
Marco van BeersThanks to the collaboration between Makerbot and TeamTeamUsa new biodegradable shells are printed for hermit crabs.
How To Grow Your Own Sneaker
Koert van MensvoortRaymond Ong creates uniquely customized fish leather by transferring the DNA of existing animal patterns on the skin of stingray fishes. This leather is then used to produce highly personalized sneakers.
iPhone Entertainment for Pets
Lisa van der VoortChildren can be effortlessly entertained for hours thanks to tablet and smartphone games, but these technologies also provide a solution for the lazy pet owner. More videos of …
Jellyfish built from Rat Cells
Koert van MensvoortAnother step in the fusion of the made & the born: Researchers at Harvard University managed to make an artificial jellyfish using a sheet of silicone and rat heart cells. The …
Let the Robotic Farmers feed the World
Koert van MensvoortThe future of farming is not to be found in further mass-industrialization nor in the return to traditional farming with man and horse power, but rather in swarms of smart, cheap robotic farmers that patiently seed, tend and harvest fields one plant at a time without the need for damaging pesticides.
Mark Post - Meet the New Meat
Koert van MensvoortAccording to professor Mark Post, lab-grown meat could become the environmentally friendly alternative for breeding cows and pigs for meat consumption. Watch his talk!
Monkeys Fall into the 'Uncanny Valley' Too
Koert van MensvoortThe uncanny valley, a phrase coined by Japanese robotic researcher Masahiro Mori nearly three decades ago, describes the uncanny feeling that occurs when people look at …
Nano Product: Honest Egg
NextNature.netDo away with dishonest health claims for eggs and uncertain promises of organic, free-range hens. With eggshells that change color according to hormones, medicines, and nutrients, …
Playing With Pigs
Lisa van der VoortBesides children and pets , it turns out that pigs are also attracted to interactive interfaces. Pig Chase is a computer game in which pigs and people can play together. The aim …
Post Natural Organisms of the EU
Koert van MensvoortIf you happen to be in the neighborhood you might want to drop by at the exhibition Post Natural Organisms of the European Union in Amsterdam. The small but delicate expo, curated …
Rule #5: Consider Zoomorphism as an Alternative
NextNature.netFor past entries and an introduction to the 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design, click here. When a product imitates animal behavior, the strict social rules …
Christien Meindertsma – Visualizing the Pig Farm
Koert van MensvoortChristien Meindertsma was surprised by the unrealistic nostalgic visualizations of farms on children's coloring plates. She decided to create a more realistic coloring plate of the pig farm.
Where Be Dragons? Try Your Instinctual Fear of Snakes
Allison GuyThis last Monday rang in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. Not restricted just to the benevolent, snake-like creature of Chinese mythology, or to the greedy, princess-stealing …
Who will Question Bio-Engineering?
Koert van MensvoortBioethicist Paul Root Wolpe presents a parade of recent bio-engineering experiments, from glowing monkeys , to genetically boosted salmon , to cyborg insects . He asks: isn't it …
Will a Cockroach Save Your Life?
Steef PeppingOften cockroaches aren’t people's best friends, but maybe in a few years you will be relieved when you see a cockroach. Researchers of the North Carolina State University …
Yes, There Is Now a TV Channel Just for Dogs
Allison GuyDogTV , a new TV channel available in the US, offers 24/7 programming for the modern dog. There's busy streets, computer-animated moths and frolicking, cross-breed hounds. The …
A Robot to Make Rats Depressed
Marco van BeersThe robot in the picture above chases and attacks the living rat rights besides it. The W-3, as the robot is named, is designed to make rats seriously depressed. In fact, this …
App Brings Big Data to Birdwatching
Allison GuyThe eBird app is bringing big data to bird spotting.
Bird Sounds Visualised
Arnoud van den HeuvelMade to beat the real thing. By digital artist Andy Thomas .
Birdhouse Sweet Birdhouse
Alessia Andreotti3D printer company MakerBot recently launched a contest inviting designers to create the birdhouse of the future. The winner is The American Craftsman Bungalow by Brent J. …
Carnivorous Plants Turn Vegetarian
Robin van KampenWill extended pollution cause carnivorous plants to turn to a fully vegetarian diet?
Delivery Drones Are Coming
Koert van MensvoortAmazon announces they want to use drones to deliver your order within a half hour at any location you choose.
Disgusting, these Stingray Sneakers
Koert van MensvoortDutch NRC features a wonderful article today on our online film project The Rise & Fall of Rayfish Footwear.
Electric Skin Could Allow Robots to Feel
Koert van MensvoortA new kind of piezotronic transistor mesh could make for robotic skin that’s as sensitive as your own is, covered in thousands of tiny mechanical hairs.
Food Familiarization #1: Semantic Tricks
Allison GuyWhen does a rose not smell as sweet? When it's a Patagonian toothfish.
Hate Babies? Why Not Give Birth to an Endangered Species?
Allison GuySolving the world's population crisis by replacing human infants with aquatic creatures.
How Much is a Polar Bear Worth?
Jonathon MarkowskiPolar bears bring only $9 million to the Canadian economy, but citizens put their collective value at $6.3 billion. Why?
La Surconsommation
Koert van MensvoortFor those who "eat meat, but don't like in-vitro meat, because it is so unnatural" . Please spend 5 min to watch this video and change your thinking. You were watching the …
Modifying Milk and Glowing Livestock
Emilija MarinkovicGenetically modified glowing sheep make it harder to count sheep at night.
Moral Shortcomings in the Technology Debate
Rinie van EstDigital and genetic techniques increasingly influence life. Our belief in progress through technology stands in the way of a moral debate on this development. By Rinie van Est We …
Next Nature saves Old Nature
Koert van MensvoortConservation workers ask synthetic biologists to help them save the world's endangered creatures and habitats.
Rollin' Safari
Arnoud van den HeuvelAssuming that true wildlife hàs gone extinct... Who needs the real thing when you can have a Next Safari ? Let's go and hunt for the plastic birds on the beach or watch genuine …
Scientists Implant False Memory in Mice
Alessia AndreottiManipulations of the mind that were once the terrain of futuristic fantasy are now one step closer to becoming reality. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology …
The Anatomy of Mickey Mouse
Koert van MensvoortFinally a full anatomical model of the renowned comic figure.
The Angry Bird Spotters Guide
Koert van MensvoortWhy are these birds so angry? Probably because they don't appear in the scientific literature.
The birth of the artificial womb
Alessia AndreottiResearchers in Tokyo have developed an artificial womb (for goats).
The Future of Solar Power? Snail Teeth!
Marco van BeersThe gumboot chiton snail produces the hardest biomineral known on earth - and it may hold the secret to better nanotechnology.
The Holy Grail of Immortality
Casper JacobsInjecting mice with telomerase enables them to live 24% longer than the average mouse.
The Monkey Named After a Website
Allison GuyThis Bolivian monkey's name is also an ad for online gambling.
The Prefuture of Synthetic Biology
Alexandra Daisy GinsbergAlexandra Daisy Ginsberg discusses the promises and realities of synthetic biology.
The "Silk Pavilion" Combines Digital and Biological Architecture
Alessia AndreottiThe worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the warms build pavilions made of polygonal silk panels.
'Victimless Shelter' Grown from Pig Cells
Allison GuyWhile Next Nature was busy dreaming up new in vitro meat (IVM) foods, the mad scientists of Terreform ONE in New York went ahead and designed an entire dwelling made of IVM pig cells.
Ambulance Drone
Alessia AndreottiThe ambulance drone: an autonomously navigating mini aeroplane that can quickly deliver a defibrillator.
Cat-like Sensitive Whiskers for Robots
Alessia AndreottiElectronic whiskers put sensitive catlike sensors on robots.
Drone Diver's License? Get it Online!
Alessia AndreottiThe online course to get your drone driver’s license for civil use.
Drones Could Be the Next Dog Sitters
Alessia AndreottiA drone take a dog out for a walk, guiding and monitoring the pet.
Google Street View Camel
Alessia AndreottiMost of the images for Google Street View are collected with a car, but for the first time, the task has been given to a camel.
Next Nature and the Curse of Oil
Tere VadénThe next step is to embrace and celebrate how cultural artifacts are escaping control, becoming autonomous, and forming the “next nature”.
No Future for Traditional Meat
Alessia AndreottiAt Home in the Lab with Mark Post, Father of the In Vitro Hamburger. Interview from The In Vitro Meat Cookbook
OpenWorm: The First Digital Organism
Alessia AndreottiThe first digital life form is an interactive worm based on its real biology.
Phone Case Modeled After a Dead Animal
Alessia AndreottiJapanese designed a phone case using the dead carcass of a crustacean as model.
Salmon Cannon Shoots Fish Over Dams
Alessia AndreottiA cannon that sucks salmon up and “shoots” them out in a different body of water.
Spider Silk will be Commercialized in 2015
Julia WeberCompany AMSilk will commercialize spider silk in 2015.
The Anthropocene Explosion
Koert van MensvoortWe have entered the Anthropocene epoch, in which humanity and its instrumentalities are the most potent and influential geological force.
The Bionic Kangaroo
Alessia AndreottiThe BionicKangaroo technologically reproducesthe unique way a kangaroo moves.
Analogue vs Digital: Drone Wars
NextNature.netThe use of armed drones has dramatically escalated in the war in Pakistan.
Could Biomimicry Help us Solve the Refugee Crisis?
Daniel FragaFrom nutrients within an organism, to organisms within collectives, to populations within a territory and so on - nature offers models on how to deal with highly complex systems.
Bionic Ants That Work Together
Louise HuyghebaertThese robotic ants by Festo are learning to work together, like real ants do.
Cybernetic Bugs
Alessia AndreottiBeetles, dragonflies, butterflies and bugs made from recycled deconstructed computers, smartphones and consoles.
Digital Aquarium Powered by Real Fish
Alessia AndreottiThe fish swimming in this aquarium are unaware part of the Flowers and Fish art installation by Japanese digital studio teamLab.
Drone Maps Christ the Redeemer
Yunus Emre DuyarThe current technology has not been able to replicate Christ the Redeemer perfectly, until now.
Grow your Dinner in a Kitchen Insect Farm
Koert van MensvoortThe Kitchen Insect Farm enables people to grow their own protein source (read: larvae) at home.
Possibilities for Drones in Performing Arts
Alexandra BremersJapanese fashion brand Buyma created this video with a wink, wherein drones play a crucial role.
Lab-Grown Horn to Help Prevent Poaching
Yunus Emre DuyarPembient, a West Coast startup, might have a solution to the rhino-poaching problem with its lab-grown rhino horn project.
MIT Lets Robot Cheetah Off Leash
Hessel HoogerhuisRobot Cheetah has grown up! Scientists at MIT's Biometrics Robotics Lab have now trained their robo-feline Cheetah to detect obstacles and jump over hurdles as it runs, making it …
Plastivore – A Bird that Feeds on Plastic
Koert van MensvoortThe speculative 'Plastivore' bird thrives on a diet of fungi and plastics.
Puppy Delivery Drones
Yunus Emre Duyar3 Million Dogs released a funny video, which shows puppies delivered by drones.
Tiny Robots Assemble a Room in Minutes
Wei Lun WangDom Indoors , is the latest research project developed by a construction robotics company called Asmbld . It includes a robotic system that can reconfigure an indoor space within …
Robot Swans Monitor Water Quality
Alessia AndreottiThe National University of Singapore released a group of robot swans in the Pandan Reservoir to swim around and keep an eye on water quality.
The art of growing grasshoppers
Ruben BaartGrasshoppers are a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to meat protein. Could the ability to grow them in your kitchen make them more appealing? Watch the video below and …
The Drone Circus
Alessia AndreottiThe first ever circus consisting entirely of drones is coming to Amsterdam. This fall the Amsterdam Arena will host a choreographed airshow using nothing but drones combined with …
The Secret Service is Preparing for Drones
Yunus Emre DuyarThe U.S. Secret Service is conducting test drone flights over Washington, D.C.
Turning Cockroaches into Rescue Robots
Yunus Emre DuyarCyborg cockroaches might be used for search-and-rescue operations in the future.
Your Cat Can Post on Instagram Now
Yunus Emre DuyarYour cat might be able to take photos and share them on Instagram by itself soon.
The Death of the Traffic Light
Daniel FragaMIT researchers have developed a system of traffic control that will make traffic lights obsolete.
Disney Lights Up the Sky with 300 Drones
Mathilde NakkenDisney’s latest attraction? 300 drones flying in formation.
Drone Racing: Sports for the 21st Century
Daniel FragaDrone racing: a new sport, where competitors drive drones at a speed of 70 mph. They control the drone by distance, using video goggles.
People, Use Your Drone to Map El Niño!
Margherita OlivoHow to monitor the effects of El Niño ? The Nature Conservancy wants to take advantage of the massive image production that can be collected using smartphones and drones. From …
The First Fully Autonomous Soft Robot
Ruben BaartThe Octobot is the first of its kind made fully of soft materials and is aimed to pave the way towards a more safely interaction with humans.
How Knitwear Can Save Penguins
Mathilde NakkenThe penguin jumper is designed by the Penguin Foundation, an organization that rescues penguins on the Australian coast who are hit by oils spills.
Computers Need Domestication
Alejandro AlvarezSoon we won’t program computers anymore, we’ll train them like dogs.
A Mosquito Factory to Defeat Zika Virus
Margherita OlivoThere's a factory in China that produces mosquitos and their plan is to defeat the Zika virus.
Shark Drones Clean up the Port of Rotterdam
Mathilde NakkenIn the port of Rotterdam you might be able to cross a floating Waste Shark: a robot able to collect up to 500 kilos of trash.
This Robotic Stingray is Alive
Ruben BaartBy way of reverse engineering and taking heart cells from a rat, researchers at Harvard University have designed a miniature robotic stingray that is alive.
Solar-Powered Donkeys to Stay Online
Margherita OlivoTurkish shepherds are installing solar panels on their donkeys to stay connected.
A Taste of RoboBee Honey
Mathilde NakkenWhere most researchers are focusing on keeping bees alive, researchers of Harvard are developing a bee replacement; the Robobee. The Robobee is only the size of half a paperclip, with ultra thin wings flapping 120 times per second. The main goal is to build a mechanic pollinator.
The Autonomous Tractor Is Here
Ruben BaartCase IH debuted their autonomous farm tractor that plants, monitors crops and harvests, all without a driver.
Vacation in the Era of Marine Pollution
Megan Ray NicholsWhile we can’t just leave the coast permanently without upsetting the delicate balance of this new environment we created, we can take better care of it to ensure that it is around for years to come.
Cyborg Dragonfly for Special Service
Ruben BaartA Biomedical solutions company is developing a system for insects to wear, allowing engineers to steer it remotely.
Drones and Robots Co-Work in Solar Farms
Alessia AndreottiBladeRanger might have found the ultimate solution for solar panels cleaning putting drones and robots together at work.
Human Artist Hatches Ten Chicken Eggs
Ruben BaartFrench performance artist hatches 10 hen's eggs in Palais de Tokyo.
The Internet of Bees
Jack CaulfieldWhat can we learn from listening to the buzz of bees' conversation? With the help of a new monitoring system, a Canadian researcher is hoping to find out.
Conversation with Dutch Philosopher Bas Haring: Robot, Colleague or Foe?
Ruben BaartWe talked with Bas Haring to discuss the conception, image and will of the robot. Read our conversation with him and update your ideas about robots.
The Solution to Nuisance Birds? The Robird
Jack CaulfieldBirds are fascinating creatures, but for farmers, airport staff, and waste management specialists, they can prove to be a profound nuisance. How to deal with a flock of birds …
Robo-Bee Pollinated a Japanese Lily
Nadine RoestenburgA video of a robotic bee pollinating a flower (looking more like Loopin' Louie spinning off the board game and hitting a flower) recently caught our attention. What at first sight …
The Age of Rust
Koert van MensvoortMeet the incredible new species "Petramosaurus Cavator" and discover its impact on our planet.
I like my steak lab-grown, not-grass fed
Angus HerveyRight now, somewhere in a laboratory in California, the Netherlands or Japan, a technician is taking a few thousand skeletal muscle cells from a living animal, and placing them in …
Managing the data deluge: Twitter as a tool for ecological research
Marianne MessinaAs early as 2009-10 , researchers were looking at Twitter data mining as a way to predict the incidence of flu. At the time, the H1N1 virus, or “swine flu,” had made the jump from …
Sophia the Robot has a sister: Little Sophia
Ruben BaartRobot Sophia is pretty much the international face of the ‘modern robot’. Sophia is the Audrey Hepburn-inspired humanoid robot who stands out for multiple reasons. She is the …
Next Generation: Unleashing nature’s untapped potential with Amelie Unger
Freya HutchingsThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
Watch this lifelike robot fish swim through the ocean
Vanessa Bates RamirezEarth’s oceans are having a rough go of it these days. On top of being the repository for millions of tons of plastic waste , global warming is affecting the oceans and upsetting …
What is a species?
Henry TaylorA koala bear isn’t actually a bear, it’s a marsupial. Whales aren’t fish, they’re mammals . Tomatoes aren’t vegetables, they’re fruit . Almost nothing is actually a nut . Peanuts, …
Meatable: From stem cells to pork chops
Vanessa Bates RamirezThe food chain has always worked roughly like this: sunlight feeds plants. Plants feed insects. Insects and plants feed animals. Plants and animals feed people. Then …
This startup is growing sushi-grade salmon from cells in a lab
Vanessa Bates RamirezAs the ills of factory farming become more pronounced, people are increasingly gravitating towards vegetarian or pescatarian diets. Besides producing a large percentage of our …
Living robots made from frog stem cells may revolutionize medicine
Freya HutchingsAt just a millimeter wide, Xenobots are “neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal", they are "a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism”, says …
Italians Do It Better
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkTERRACINA, Italy: Before Michele Assunto hauls in his fishing net from the banks of a reed-lined canal here, he uses a pole to push the garbage out of the way. "They really need …
Come See the Berg!
Koert van MensvoortSo you’ve seen the peak of the Mount Everest on tour ? Descended the bobsled ride of the Matterhorn in a Disneyland ? Think you’ve seen it all? Now come and see The Berg in …
Next Nature Movie #7 – Grizzly Man
Koert van MensvoortThe sad story of Timothy Treadwell is the ultimate example of the drama a naive notion of nature can bring about. Grizzly Man (2005) opens with the facts surrounding Timothy …
Ancient Man Impacted Environment Already
Koert van MensvoortThe 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 …
Apes Like Cooked Food, and What that Means for Human Evolution
Allison GuyHumans are the only species on earth that cooks its food. Not only do we cook our food, but we usually find the flavor of cooked foods preferable to the raw version. Compare the …
Disaster Edens: The Anti-Tourist Attraction
Allison GuyImagine your cruise to the Galapagos came with a ghoulish warning: "Your hair will fall out, your skin will blister, you'll probably get cancer and your children's children might …
Nintendo Portables Are Breeding Grounds For Sexy Fun
Vincent KlerkxSexuality and sensuality are phenomena which have been a nature for us as long as we humans exist. Not only humans experience these phenomena; also animals experience sexuality …
Time Between Emergence and Design
carolinenevejanPreviously, experiences of time emerged from nature as given – offering seasons, the rhythm of humans, plants and animals. Nowadays, people integrate nature-time, body-time, inner-time, clock-time, and global 24/7 systems-time. Human beings, in past, current and next natures, have to deal with emergence and design of time in order to survive.
Nature is Dead, Long live Nature
Koert van MensvoortLike we did to old nature before, we must now cultivate our technological environment.
Grossed Out by Lab-Grown Meat? Here's 7 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Be
Allison GuyIn vitro meat is creepy, unnatural and downright disgusting – and so is every other kind of food we eat.
Urban Green
Alessia AndreottiThese pictures by photographer Jacob Gesink show how the urban green is carefully manufactured.
Anthropo-scene #8: Anthropocene Rabbit
ChristianWith cities covering growing area of land, we humans and our spaces build the new wilderness for animals and plants.
Solar Energy: the Hottest New Currency
Lewis JustEnergy-backed money could help transition humanity to a more sustainable world, both environmentally and economically.
Artificial Light Threatens Pollination
Daniel FragaA recent study demonstrated how artificial light is a serious threat to plant pollination. It puts plant reproduction in danger, as well as the whole ecosystem.
Cruising Critters Travel the Ocean on Plastic
Charlotte KuijpersTons of living animals have floated from Japan to the United States traveling across the ocean on plastic junk and debris.
Designer Anouk Wipprecht combines fashion with robotics
Alessia AndreottiWe met Anouk Wipprecht and talked about smart fabrics and accessories that can listen to our body, therapeutic fashion and the future of dressmaking.
Plants + Science = Meat!
Daniel FragaWhat if you could have the taste of a juicy, sizzling burger without the destructive impact of using animals for meat? That is what Impossible Foods wants to do with its new burger.
Celebrating Dutch Water Protection:
Last Weeks to See 'Gates of Light'
Kelly Streekstra
If you are in The Netherlands you can explore the latest art project by Studio Roosegaarde and discover the iconic, yet historical value of the Closing Dike.
It could be time to start thinking about a cybernetic Bill of Rights
Mike RyderLike it or loathe it, the robot revolution is now well underway and the futures described by writers such as Isaac Asimov , Frederik Pohl and Philip K. Dick are fast turning from …
Interview: Patricia Piccinini discusses her latest solo exhibition 'Embracing the Future'
Freya HutchingsPatricia Piccinini is an artist interested in the relationship between humans and non-humans, the natural and the artificial, science and storytelling. Working with silicone, …
NOT (Natural) AND NOT (mechanical) = human
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkEric Hoffer (1902-1983) You dehumanize a man as much by returning him to nature - by making him one with rocks, vegetation, and animals - as by turning him into a machine. Both …
RFID Chips: Is your cat infected with a Computer Virus?
Koert van MensvoortA group of computer researchers from Amsterdam have demonstrated that it is possible to insert a software virus into radio frequency identification tags, part of a microchip-based …
