5 ms·
3D-printed bacteria flagella motor, scale 3e7 to 1
- Robotbeat 5y agoThat is remarkable. I’m a physicist by background, but a materials scientist by current occupation, specializing in polymer matrix composites mostly. It strikes me how analogous living organisms are to polymeric systems. Actually, not analogous. Literally living things are polymeric systems. Proteins are just specific polymers with unique monomer organization. And crazy how the monomers (amino acids) are recycled from one organism consuming another. Solvent based recycling, just like for recycling artificial polymers. Polyethylene looks identical to a very long chain fatty acid. It’s only not biodegradable yet because the organism capable of doing so has not yet evolved, just like lignin in the Carboniferous. We are made of nanomachines. Honest-to-god nanomachines.
- solarmist 5y agoDo we understand how to drive those motors? Or how they work? I'm guessing we don't know how to construct them yet though.
- nojokes 5y agoAnd I hope that Polyethylene eating organism does not ever evolve or is not synthesized.
- dragonwriter 5y ago> Polyethylene looks identical to a very long chain fatty acid. It’s only not biodegradable yet because the organism capable of doing so has not yet evolved, just like lignin in the Carboniferous. That’s...possibly inaccurate. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es504038a https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es504038a