SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
You may've heard that astronauts on the International Space Station recycle their own pee into drinking water, but space travelers could also one day upcycle their own urine into tools and other useful items.
Researchers from Clemson University are exploring ways that strains of yeast can be used to convert nitrogen from urine and carbon dioxide from astronauts' breath (or perhaps the atmosphere of Mars) into useful substances like nutrients or polymers. One strain of engineered yeast creates polyester polymers that could be used in 3D printers to create needed tools or parts for a long space mission.
The researchers presented their work Tuesday at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Washington.
[...] Having "a biological system that astronauts can awaken from a dormant state" and start using to produce what they need, when they need it, is the project's motivation, Blenner said.
See also: EurekAlert.
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MostCynical on Sunday August 27 2017, @12:33PM (1 child)
yeast infection in space. Quick, get the 3D printer to make yoghurt to treat the sleeping astronaut!
Once the 3D printer is done making a tool, will it be strong enough to use? Are these (imagined) new printable polymers going to be extra strong, somehow?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday August 27 2017, @01:38PM
Nobody knows until they'll be realed.
And to real them, there are lotsa complexities to be defeated, which of course will require at least 5 years of assured research budget.
(or, you know, better send the filament already, it will cost less for sure)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0