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TLDR: * the proposal is to mix the fungal spores when pouring concrete, in the hope the spores remain dormant in concrete pores. When cracks form and water/mos
by pm90 9y ago
TLDR:
* the proposal is to mix the fungal spores when pouring concrete, in the hope the spores remain dormant in concrete pores. When cracks form and water/mositure seeps into the cracks, the spores germinate and produce calcium carbonate deposits that "fix" the cracks.
* The article notes that more research is required before this mechanism is proven to work; it has been showed to work in petri dish/controlled conditions
* Probably won't fix existing infrastructure as it requires to be mixed with concrete when its poured.
- kogepathic 9y ago> Probably won't fix existing infrastructure as it requires to be mixed with concrete when its poured. Exactly. Using the term "fix" here is disingenuous to the actual research being done. This is simply research into a fungal addititive which if added to concrete could prevent cracks from worsening. What is likely to happen if they ever figure out how to add it to concrete is that the life span of concrete structures will be upgraded accordingly and the neglect will stay at it's present level until the new and improved structures start to fail.