Building a house on Mars? Living ink revolutionizes 3D printer

Do you have a little moment for a trip into the future? Then you should take a look at what a team of researchers from the USA is currently researching. The experts have developed a method for bringing houses to life. This involves not only a 3D printer, but also a very special ink. The goal of the whole thing? The scientists want to create materials that can build and repair themselves.

Living materials in science

Corresponding buildings are then to be built on Mars, among other places. The advantages are obvious. After all, given the adverse conditions on the ground, it is extremely complicated to carry out classic repair work on the houses. Even if the first results have only now reached the public, research in the field of living materials is by no means new. Quite the contrary. Researchers have been interested in comparable materials for quite some time. However, until now it was primarily the medical field that was interested in using them. However, one major problem has always stood in the way of scientists. They simply did not know how to create a living material in a three-dimensional form. What seemed impossible for a long time has now been achieved by a team of researchers.

Living ink from coliform bacteria

The team of scientists from Harvard University and Harvard Medical School has a gigantic breakthrough to announce as part of its research. In a sense, they have created living material that can be used as “ink” for a 3D printer. At the heart of this somewhat different ink is the Escherichia coli bacteria. Until now, this bacterium has been more familiar from gastrointestinal diseases. With the help of the bacterium, the researchers succeeded in producing nanofibers. They were then able to combine the living fibers into a bundle and mix them with other additives. The end result was a substance that can be used as ink for normal 3D printers. To ensure that the ink can also grow, the researchers added specially modified microbes at the end. These in turn should ensure the production of further nanofibers. Ingenious, isn’t it?!

First successful trial prints

Of course, the research team got right to work after their breakthrough. At the end of their trial prints, there were indeed three-dimensional objects, which were, in a sense, alive. In the dress rehearsal, the agenda was to create a cancer drug. The scientists succeeded in doing this by stimulating it with the aid of various chemical substances. The end result was a 3D structure, which in turn produced a cancer drug. But the researchers also had ecological problems in mind during their experiments. In order to be as environmentally friendly as possible, they even refrained from adding any additional chemicals. Despite this, they succeeded in creating a substance that can filter out the toxic substance bisphenol.

Revolutionary house building on Mars?

The possibilities seem almost limitless. Accordingly, the Harvard University research team has big plans for living ink. One not so unrealistic scenario, for example, is to use the substance to construct buildings on the moon or even Mars. This would mean that people would not have to do anything themselves to make the building of houses progress. One would “only” have to place the living ink on Mars or the moon. Thanks to its special composition, it can then be built on its own. But corresponding houses could not only build themselves. Repairs would also be possible thanks to the microbes. However, it will probably take some time before the dreams of the future become reality. First of all, it would have to be clarified how the necessary amount of living ink could be produced.