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“The fungus Neurospora crassa formed the scaffold of a living construction material”

FUNGAL SCAFFOLDING
https://newscientist.com/living-material-made-from-fungus-could-make-buildings
Living material made from fungus could make buildings more sustainable
by James Woodford / 16 April 2025

“Fungi and bacteria could one day be part of a living building material that is able to grow and repair itself. One of the great challenges facing the world as we attempt to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions is finding more sustainable building materials. The manufacture of concrete alone accounts for more than 5 per cent of total human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Some researchers hope to develop engineered living materials, produced from cells, that have desirable attributes such as being able to self-assemble, repair and photosynthesise. Many strong, mineralised structures exist in living organisms – such as bone and coral. Chelsea Heveran at Montana State University and her colleagues tested whether a similar mineralised structure could be created around a scaffold of fungal mycelium. Mycelium is a network of microscopic, branching filaments that makes up part of most fungi.

Heveran and her team grew a mycelium scaffold using a species of fungus called Neurospora crassa, then applied the bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii to the scaffold. As the fungus and bacteria metabolised urea in their growth medium, they formed a hardened structure composed of calcium carbonate, the same compound found in eggshells and seashells. She says the team drew inspiration from bone, in which biomineral is formed on a scaffold of collagen and other proteins. “Bone is incredibly strong and tough given how lightweight it is,” says Heveran. Other living materials created in the lab have only stayed alive for a few days, but the structure developed by Heveran and her colleagues was viable for at least a month. “We are excited about our results and look forward to engineering more complex and larger structures,” says Heveran. “When viability is sufficiently high, we could start really imparting lasting biological characteristics to the material that we care about, such as self-healing, sensing or environmental remediation.” “Proposing mycelium as a scaffolding medium for living materials is a simple but powerful strategy,” says Aysu Kuru at the University of Sydney.”

Journal reference: Cell Reports Physical Science DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102517

“Microscopic images of the bacteria and mycelium scaffolds.
The circles indicate the likely presence of S. pasteurii bacteria.”
Viles, Ethan et al., Cell Reports Physical Science 2025

SELF-REPAIRING STRUCTURES
https://thedebrief.org/fungus-based-building-material-heals-itself
Fungus-Based Building Material Heals Itself, Toward Self-Repairing Structures
by Ryan Whalen / April 16, 2025

“A new fungus– and bacteria-based building material developed by Montana State University researchers demonstrates the ability to “heal” itself, an achievement that could pave the way toward self-repairing structures. The new material promises major carbon reductions compared to more traditional materials such as concrete, which are commonly used in construction projects today. By mitigating some of the major drawbacks plaguing the current bio-based construction materials, the team hopes to move such materials closer to regular implementation. Bio-based construction materials already exist on the market, but developing a high-performing version incorporating live organisms has remained challenging. Keeping these organisms alive long enough to be functional has proven difficult, as has achieving the rigidity seen in conventional materials like concrete.

Led by Ethan Viles, the team looked beyond construction for inspiration, drawing from other applications of fungal mycelium, such as its use in packing and insulation. Their research identified Neurospora crassa, a type of bread mold, as well-suited for forming complex material structures. When paired with the bacteria Sporosarcina pasteurii, the resulting material could be mineralized into a strong, durable form suitable for construction. “We like these organisms for several reasons,” co-author Chelsea Heveran told The Debrief. “First, they do not pose very much threat to human health. S. pasteurii is a common soil microorganism and has been used for years in biomineralization research, including in field-scale commercial applications. N. crassa is a model organism in fungal research.” “We were excited that both of these microorganisms were ureolytic and could, therefore, potentially biomineralize the scaffolds,” Heveran added. “A good number of other bacteria and fungi could also potentially be used.”

“Diagram featuring the bone-biomimetic interior microarchitecture of the new fungus-based building material” (Credit: Heveran et al, Cell Reports Physical Science).

The material is created by combining fungal mycelium and bacterial cells at low temperatures, resulting in much lower emissions than conventional materials like concrete. It also boasts a shelf life of at least a month—far exceeding that of many other biomaterials, which often last only days or weeks. “We learned that fungal scaffolds are quite useful for controlling the internal architecture of the material,” said Heveran. “We created internal geometries that looked like cortical bone, but moving forward, we could potentially construct other geometries too.” “The materials that we are working with are made of lightweight constituents, like mineralized composites in nature,” Heveran told The Debrief. “One of the ways that nature strengthens lightweight composites is through exquisite microarchitecture. We hope to do more, using less, through engineering internal microarchitecture in more sophisticated geometries.”

Interest in engineered living materials (ELMs) is growing as scientists and industry leaders explore the sustainability potential of structural products that can self-assemble, self-heal, or even perform photosynthesis. “Biomineralized materials do not have high enough strength to replace concrete in all applications, but we and others are working to improve their properties so they can see greater usage,” said Heveran. The material’s live bacterial cells enable self-repair and help manage contamination. Remarkably, the fungus remains alive even after hardening through crystallization. While the limits of its lifespan are still unknown, Heveran believes it could be substantial. “[Use cases include] repairing small cracks before they become larger, could be very useful. Or, using microbes instead of extensive human labor could make repairing materials in remote or otherwise challenging locations,” adds Heveran. Cement production accounts for up to 8% of global human-made carbon dioxide emissions. Replacing it with bio-based alternatives like this new material could dramatically reduce the environmental footprint of building projects. The Montana State team’s next steps include increasing the viability of the live cells in the material, in part by designing internal structures that promote microorganism longevity. They are also exploring the most efficient methods for scaling up production to commercial levels.

The paper, “Mycelium as a Scaffold for Biomineralized Engineered Living Materials,” appeared on April 16, 2025, in Cell Reports Physical Science.

STARTER BRICKS
https://fastcompany.com/these-darpa-funded-bricks-can-self-repair-and-replicate
These DARPA-funded bricks can self-repair—and replicate
by Mark Wilson / 01-27-2020

“Concrete may be one of mankind’s worst inventions. While it’s helped us build tall, sturdy buildings, it is causing more damage to our planet than any other material on Earth, largely due to its water use and the carbon footprint of its production. Specifically, grinding stone into clinker, the lumpy gray stuff you see in concrete, accounts for 50% of concrete’s carbon impact. There must be a better way. Researchers at the University of Colorado, operating under a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), have demonstrated a new methodology to grow bricks out of bacteria and sand, in a new paper published in Matter.

The technique uses cyanobacteria—or what you might know as green-glowing, carbon-sequestering algae—in a process that doesn’t sound all that different from mixing a yeast starter with flour to make bread. Though in this case, there’s no baking required. Scientists created a mix of sand and hydrogel (which is basically a special, goopy plastic that’s 90% water). Then they added the bacteria Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, which is a particularly fast-growing, well-researched strain of cyanobacteria. Over the course of 24 hours, the bacteria produced rigid calcium (biology’s original hard stuff found in bones and shells), which bound the gel into a solid material. The researchers say all of this can be done in a scaffold the size of a shoe box to produce a self-curing brick. These “living brick materials” (LBMs) don’t have the strength of concrete, and they aren’t really designed to outright replace the material in the near future. “LBMs are not intended to broadly replace cementitious materials, but instead represent a new class of materials in which structural function is complemented by biological functionalities,” the paper explains.

Instead, the bricks could be used in facades, or wherever you might use a standard brick. (Incidentally, the bacteria is bright green, but the bricks solidify to beige.) And what they lack in load-bearing qualities, they gain in flexibility. These bricks can stay alive over time, and under the right temperature and humidity, can even be spurred to repair their own cracks. And much like that aforementioned yeast starter, they can be reproduced easily in the field. Researchers have demonstrated that the material from one brick could be used to make multiple new bricks, meaning that you could create exponentially more bacterial building materials out of a single starter brick.”

“A cup made from transparent paperboard – Noriyuki Isobe (JAMSTEC)”

BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS
https://newscientist.com/plant-based-material-could-replace-single-use-plastics
Plant-based waterproof material could replace single-use plastics
by James Woodford / 9 April 2025

“A waterproof, plant-based material that degrades quickly in the ocean could offer a sustainable alternative to single-use plastics in cups and straws. Transparent paperboard is, like cellophane, made from cellulose, the molecule that makes up plant cell walls. Because of the coagulant chemicals used in cellophane’s production, it hadn’t been possible until now to make it stiff, limiting it to applications such as food packaging. Noriyuki Isobe at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology in Yokosuka and his colleagues discovered that when cellulose is treated with a solution of lithium bromide, it doesn’t require a coagulant – it can simply be left to dry instead. “We have now developed a regenerated cellulose material from this solvent system that is not only shapeable but also has the potential to serve as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics,” says Isobe.

“The strongest part of a tree lies not in its trunk or its sprawling roots,
but in the walls of its microscopic cells”

The researchers found that a cup made of transparent paperboard can hold just-boiled water with almost no leakage for well over 3 hours. When they added a coating made from a plant-derived fatty acid salt, the cup became completely waterproof. The material can be made from both recycled and upcycled cellulose products such as recovered clothing. Isobe and his colleagues also tested how the material breaks down in the ocean and found that it completely degraded in 300 days in the deep sea and more quickly at shallower depths. Bhavna Middha at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia says having a paper-based alternative to plastic is “not a bad thing”, but she has some reservations about this approach to tackling the waste issue. “I would say that there should be an objection to using anything single-use unless it’s really required by people or groups that really need single-use disposable materials – for example, the medical industry,” she says.”

Journal reference: Science Advances DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ads2426

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