[ad_1]
While the Earth's biodiversity is critically endangered, the mediation group – a team of MIT scientists led by neri oxman – is searching for materials and chemicals that can maintain and enhance biodiversity in living systems . One of these substances is melanin, a pigment found in the skin, hair and eyes, as well as in feathers and butterfly wings. the pigment, which is now considered by some as more valuable than gold, has been found in fossils dating back about 160 million years and can now be synthesized chemically with the modern techniques. "Our goal is to provide information on this common, yet extraordinary pigment, and to highlight its role in supporting life on Earth in the era of synthetic biology", says the team.
image and video courtesy of the mediation group
the mediation group conducted a series of experiments in which melanin was created in three ways: chemical synthesis, where it is synthesized by a reaction between a mushroom enzyme and the L-tyrosine protein building block; extraction, where the pigment can be extracted from the feathers of birds and cuttlefish ink, before being purified and filtered; and bacterial synthesis where genes for melanin production are manipulated in bacterial species, such as Escherichia coli, and are thus controlled via recombinant gene circuits over time and in space, and in response to changes. from the environment.
image courtesy of the mediation group
as part of the research on "totems" – a project commissioned by the triennale di Milano for its exhibition "Broken Nature" – the media group has created a series of spherical objects with one or more connected channels filled with liquid melanin. "These" orbs "display a wide range of colors and absorption spectra, from yellow to dark," the team explains. "The channels have been" computer-developed, "additively manufactured and biologically enhanced to create millimetric-to-centimeter-scale pockets for enzyme liquids to reside."
image courtesy of the mediation group
Meanwhile, the facility designed for "Broken Nature" includes a demonstration of melanin production on an architectural scale for deployment in specific environmental contexts. the research merged the numerical computation of manufacturing and design with the dynamics of the chemical reaction, resulting in a "chemical totem". "Each structural realization – a biological totem – is initiated by the introduction of tyrosinase, an enzyme that leads to the formation of colors that continues during a day, deepening as the sun reaches its zenith, " describes the group of subjects subject to mediation. "In this way, the demonstration is a" window "that protects, connects and transforms sunlight."
image courtesy of the mediation group
the project culminates in an architectural proposal for a melanin-infused, environmentally friendly glass structure designed to contain several types of melanin. wrapped in a biologically enhanced facade, the structure is designed to reflect and protect endangered species on the site and to celebrate the diversity of life on our planet. the proposal is part of a project initiated by ravi naidoo of Africa interactive and was introduced for the first time by neri oxman and the mediation group to indaba 2018 design.
image courtesy of the mediation group
image courtesy of the mediation group
image courtesy of the mediation group
image courtesy of the mediation group
image courtesy of the mediation group
image of eric de brooche des combes, luxigon, courtesy of the group of the mediated matter
image of eric de brooche des combes, luxigon, courtesy of the group of the mediated matter
project information:
the group of mediated material: sunanda sharma, christoph bader, rachel soo hoo smith, felix kraemer, joao costa, joseph kennedy, joseph faraguna, hans martin pech, susan williams, natalia casas, prof. Neri Oxman.
manufacturing: FRONT, inc. BODINO. STRATASYS, ltd
bacterial strains: Dechuan Meng, MIT. teacher. Christopher Voigt, MIT
photograph on site: gianluca di ioia
video: the mediation group
makes: eric of brooch of the combes, Luxigon
production of installation: Kelly Egorova
musical composition: osvaldo golijov, extracts from mariel (1999) for cello and marimba
thanks: NOE, LLC .. indaba design, front, inc., MIT Media Lab, STRATASYS, ltd., Robert wood johnson Foundation, estée lauder, GETTYLAB, the XXII Triennale of Milan
commissioned by: broken nature: design assumes human survival, organized by paola antonelli, the XXII Triennial of Milan from March 1st to September 1st, 2019
philip stevens I designboom
April 15, 2019
[ad_2]
Source link