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Clearly the end goal for this research is figuring out why the fungi can block radiation and taking advantage of that for better radiation shielding. We’re not
by nynx 5y ago
Clearly the end goal for this research is figuring out why the fungi can block radiation and taking advantage of that for better radiation shielding. We’re not going to be flying around in spaceships coated in fungi.
- kortex 5y agoI mean why not? Hard radiation tends to destroy whatever it hits on a molecular/atomic level. If you have a biological shield which is constantly refreshing itself, you can possibly have a much lighter assembly. Mycelium has also been used to purify water. It might be possible to integrate shielding with water storage/buffer and recycling. It'll probably require layering different types of material to convert higher energy radiation (like cosmic rays) to more manageable spectra.
- FredPret 5y agoIf we had a fungi that could purify water and block out deep space radiation, that would be one sweet mushroom. Better hope it doesn’t die halway to Mars!
- kortex 5y agoYeah, that would be something we'd want to do long-scale simulation tests of before setting sail. Build a simulated spaceship, probably in orbit for maximum accuracy, and see how everything holds up. Tbh I'd be more concerned about the humans cracking psychologically before the fungus dying. They are hardy buggers.
- ipodopt 5y agoWe don't want a material that builds and repairs itself? Anyhow, seems like they think it is the concentration of melanin in the fungi. The melanin has been sequenced and it is the same type found in human skin. Maybe we will see this adaptation in space fairing humans... Wonder if current black astronauts are less effected by radiation. EDIT: Probably something that will seem so obvious in hindsight.
- T-A 5y agoCheck out the Martian settlers in Spin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(novel)
- xvilka 5y agoMaybe the future of space travel are living spaceships. Some kind of crustaceans with outer shell, living main body, and human crew inside. Something between fungi, animal, and plant even.
- f6v 5y agoThat’s straight out of Farscape, iirc. I remember watching a living ship fly though space as a kid and it seemed like a giant stretch. But maybe it isn’t.
- T-A 5y agoGood old Moya: https://farscape.fandom.com/wiki/Moya https://farscape.fandom.com/wiki/Moya
- FredPret 5y ago> crustacean We’ll call it the lob-star
- arcticbull 5y agoWhy not Zoidberg, tbh?
- justinator 5y agoI call it: delicious!
- jorvi 5y ago> Something between fungi, animal, and plant even. You mean a protista?
- vbezhenar 5y agoIMO future of everything is replicating nano-robots, artificial life-like beings. Nature can't be as good as artificially created specialized mechanisms. Right now nature have an advantage in self-replicating cells which we can't reproduce yet, but I'm sure that we will.
- whalesalad 5y agoWhy not? I mean, the fungi would die out in space without oxygen but if it retained its properties it could be used just like any other material: wood, steel, ceramics, etc. The coolest part about fungus is that it will grow into its environment, so I would imagine molds (no pun intended) could be used to "grow" a panel, sheet, etc almost like natural 3D printing.
- mtsr 5y agoThere are a few companies that produce packaging alternatives for EPS that way.
- lallysingh 5y agoI think the end goal would be a fungi that we can layer between hulls and is low maintenance. Or even better, that also generates oxygen. Maybe even feeds on human waste.
- abletonlive 5y agofungi consume oxygen, or at least, most of them do. not sure why people think of fungi as plants.
- andrewflnr 5y agoAnything that can't walk around on its own is obviously a plant. /s More seriously, the ideal is obviously an actual radiotrophic plant, right? That honestly seems within reach of genetic engineering, if it doesn't already exist.
- Chris2048 5y agoHmm, how would fungi be different from a self-repairing expanding foam? Other than needing to be kept alive?
- hinkley 5y agoBecause fungi are some of the oldest terrestrial organisms on the planet. Today they often enjoy shade and humidity, but at the time there was melanin and other UV blocking chemicals, or wearing other organisms as a hat (lichen). There's one interpretation of evolution where fungi are the original farmers. Everything from lichen up to and including trees only happening because it suited fungi to do so.