Spinach is no longer just a superfood. By embedding leaves with carbon nanotubes, MIT engineers have transformed spinach plants into sensors that can detect explosives and wirelessly relay that information to a handheld device similar to a smartphone.
After sensing dangerous chemicals, the carbon-nanotube-enhanced plants send an alert.
Continue reading… “Nanobionic spinach plants detect explosives”
The furniture chain is getting into the sustainable farming industry, one restaurant kitchen at a time.
Swedish home furnishing giant IKEA is known for its simple, affordable furniture that populates dorm rooms and studio apartments across the country. Now, the furniture chain is hoping to get into the sustainable farming industry, one restaurant kitchen at a time.
Continue reading… “IKEA wants to help restaurants build their own indoor farms”
Monsanto is using a genetic technology that can feed plants through vase water for anti-aging technology for flowers . The St. Louis biotech company, known for its transgenic corn and soybeans, and for being the target of anti-GMO campaigners, disclosed in a patent application that it’s now testing a new way of stopping roses, carnations, and petunias from wilting.
Continue reading… “Monsanto is cultivating a rose that won’t wilt”
Spread, a Japanese company in the agricultural industry, is expanding into the 21st century. Spread’s automated vertical farm has gained it a lot of fame and now it looks to open new locations and grow new kinds of produce. Vertical farming is quickly emerging across the world and some are even moving into supermarket’s produce section.
Continue reading… “Japanese automated farm expanding in size and types of vegetables”
Mushroom bodies are made of a mass of thin thread called mycelium. Mycelium acts as an information superhighway that speeds up interaction, of a diverse population and plants. But just as our networks are not always safe, these fungi networks too have a dark side of plants using the networks to their advantage.
Continue reading… “Under your feet is an information superhighway made of fungi”
The future of farming is coming to the big city. Skyfarm, a hyperboloid tower that combines different farming techniques, from aquaponics to traditional soil based methods, in a bamboo structure that generates wind energy, won an award at the 2014 World Architecture Festival’s Future Projects Experimental category. The design was praised by the jury as a “thorough, believable, and beautiful project.”
Continue reading… “Skyfarms, Wind-powered, vertical structures, are the future of agriculture”
The very thought of death puzzles, touches and disturbs us all. One thing we do know for sure is that not one of us will escape death, and so you might as well know how you want to be buried.
Continue reading… “Organic Burial Pods Turn Your Loved Ones Into Trees”
Swedish scientists are taking the futuristic idea of plant cyborgs and making the leap from science fiction to real-world science. They have been working on ways to regulate plant growth, using electronic wires grown inside the plants own nutrient channels to host sensors and drug-delivery systems. The aim is to provide just the right amount of plant hormones at just the right time. Such efforts could provide even more precise human control over plant production and agriculture.
Plants are the original solar power generators, turning the sun’s rays into energy through the process we all learned about in biology class: photosynthesis. So, when we think of solar power, we should be thinking about plants instead of solar panels.
Continue reading… “This ‘artificial leaf’ could produce the cleanest energy on Earth”
Pollution levels decrease and the health of people improves when cities plant trees. Studies show that America’s trees save thousands of lives a year, mainly by preventing breathing-related problems (they also make you feel like you have more money, if you’re into that sort of thing).
How would you, your loved ones, or even your pet like to grow into a tree after death? It is now possible with the Bios Urn. Continue reading… “Grow your ashes into a tree with the Bios Urn”
Dutch company harnessing electricity from living plants.
The Dutch company Plant-e, is using living plants to power more than 300 streetlights, WiFi hotspots, and cell phone chargers. The “Starry Sky” project started in November 2014 by Plant-e near Amsterdam in an old ammunition site called HAMburg.
Continue reading… “Dutch company using living plants to power streetlights”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.