
DARPA-Funded Self-Assembling ‘Engineered Living Material’ Interfaces with Organisms, Can Be ‘Programmed’ to Soak Up Heavy Metals from the Environment
Scientists at Rice University in Houston have created a novel synthetic material out of genetically engineered bacterial cells that’s able to autonomously assemble into macroscopic structures that can “be programmed” to soak up contaminants (such as heavy metals) from their environment.
A team of scientists at Rice University in Houston has created a novel synthetic material out of genetically engineered bacterial cells that’s able to self-assemble—“from the bottom up”—into macroscopic structures. The scientists say the material, a type of engineered living material (or ELM), “can be programmed to soak up contaminants from [its] environment or to catalyze biological reactions,” and “should be relatively easy to modify… for optical, electrical, mechanical, thermal, transport and catalytic applications.”
The scientists, working in Caroline Ajo-Franklin’s eponymous research lab at the university, outlined their new ELM in a study published in Nature Communications. They note this work “provides genetic tools, design and assembly rules, and a platform” for growing ELMs that can have both their shapes and functions controlled.
According to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (or DARPA), which partially funded this research, ELMs can be thought of as “building materials that combine the structural advantages of traditional building materials with the adaptive advantages of living materials.” Ostensibly allowing for the merger of inert biological materials such as wood, nails, bones, etc. with living cellular tissues and organs in order “to grow materials on demand where they are needed.”
To create their unique ELM the scientists genetically engineered the bacteria Caulobacter crescentus. C. crescentus, which is widely distributed in fresh water lakes and streams and capable of living off very tiny amounts of nutrients, has previously demonstrated itself as relatively easy to genetically modify hence its use in this context.

As Rice University notes in a press release outlining the team’s findings, the researchers modified C. crescentus to express a unique version of a protein it naturally produces, which “covers its outer membrane like scales on a snake.” The researchers say they developed the protein derivative “with characteristics not only favorable to forming ELMs… but also providing tags for future functionalization.” The researchers have dubbed the unique expression of the protein BUD for “bottom-up de novo,” which means, in essence, that the material is made from scratch.
In the case of this BUD-ELM made from genetically modified C. crescentus, the scientists were able to dry it out for up to three weeks and still regenerate it in 33% of cases, maintaining its ability to grow. The scientists say in their paper that they were able to collect the material from multiple cultures and form a “cohesive paste… that was extrudable through syringes with different diameters…. .” The team also experimented with mixing the BUD-ELM material with glass powder, forming a “cementing agent” that was able to harden into a solid composite.

“We wanted to prove that it’s possible to grow materials from cells, like a tree grows from a seed,” Sara Molinari, a postdoctoral researcher in Ajo-Franklin’s lab and lead author of the study, said in Rice’s press release. “The transformative aspect of ELMs is that they contain living cells that allow the material to self-assemble and self-repair in case of damage. Moreover, they can be further engineered to perform non-native functions, such as dynamically processing external stimuli.”
Ajo-Franklin added in the release that “One of [her] dreams is to use the material to remove heavy metals [such as cadmium] from water, and then when it reaches the end of its lifetime, pull off a little part and grow it on the spot into fresh material,” The laboratory head added “That we could do it with minimal resources is really a compelling idea to me.”
Feature image: Rice University
Related News
Bill Gates Pours Millions Into Company That Wants Cows To Wear Masks In The Name Of Climate Change
In his latest act of "environmentalism" Bill Gates has poured nearly $5 million into a startup agricultural company manufacturing masks that supposedly reduce the...
ER Physician Says Ultraviolet Streetlights May Be Used to Detect Who’s Had Their Genomes Spliced by the COVID Injections
In this interview with "Dr. Jane Ruby" Canadian ER physician Dr. Daniel Nagase speculates that the recent increase in (potentially) ultraviolet streetlights around his...
UN ‘Solar Radiation Modification’ Report Touts Using Aerosols Sprayed from Planes and ‘Space Mirrors’ as Ways to Dim Skies and Cool Earth
In a new report on "Solar Radiation Modification" research the United Nations outlines various methods it could deploy to dim the skies and cool...
Studies Using Smart ‘Wearables’ to Monitor COVID ‘Vaccine’ Reactions Show ‘Significant Change’ in ‘Nearly All’ Recorded Vital Signs In Days Following Injection
Two papers published in npj Digital Medicine and Communications Medicine, which both used smart "wearables" to monitor mRNA COVID "vaccine" recipients found "significant changes"...
Electrical Engineers, Physicians Discuss COVID ‘Vaccines’ Emitting MAC Addresses, Even from Dead Recipients’ Graves, in New Roundtable Talk
In a new roundtable conversation physicians Dr. David Nixon and Dr. Ana Maria Mihalcea, as well as electrical engineers Dr. Simon Yanowitz and Mat...
Electrical Engineers Show Overwhelming Evidence There’s Self-Assembling ‘Circuitry’ Present in the COVID ‘Vaccines’ and that the Tech is Possible Based on Available Science
In a new conversation with Australian interviewer Maria Zeee electrical engineers Simon Yanowitz and Mat Taylor show overwhelming evidence of the presence of self-assembling...