Guess we can soon start wearing shoes that might eat our feet off. That is real progress! What a great world we live in.

This message was from POPULARSCIENCE-CLIMATE-CH to ALL,
originally in conference TQW_GENSCI
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Would you wear this shoe made from genetically engineered bacteria?

Date:
Wed, 03 Apr 2024 17:16:46 +0000

The bacterial cellulose is engineered to produce its own dark, leather-like pigment.

Transitioning towards sustainable clothing practices is a must for combating climate change, so researchers are turning to bacteria for their fashion inspiration. As detailed in the research journal Nature Biotechnology , a
team at Imperial College London has genetically engineered new microbial strains capable of being woven into wearable material , while simultaneously self-dyeing itself in the process. The result is a new vegan, plastic-free leather thats suitable for items such as wallets and shoesalthough perhaps
not the most fashionable looking shoes at the moment.

As much as 200 million liters of water is consumed across the global textile industry every year, and 85 percent of all used clothing in the US winds up
in landfills. Meanwhile, the particulates shed from washing polyester and
other polymer-based fabrics already make up 20-and-35 percent of the oceans microplastics. Then theres all the pesticides used in industrial cotton farming. And when it comes to animal leather production, the statistics are arguably just as bad . Basically, from an ecological standpoint, it costs a
lot to dress fashionably.

Sustainable, microbial-based textile alternatives haven increasingly shown promise for greener manufacturing, especially the utilization of bacterial cellulose.

Bacterial cellulose is inherently vegan, and its growth requires a tiny fraction of the carbon emissions,water, land use and time of farming cows for leather, Tom Ellis, a bioengineering professor at Imperial College London and study lead author, said in a statement on Wednesday . Unlike plastic-based leather alternatives, bacterial cellulose can also be made without petrochemicals, and will biodegrade safely and non-toxically in the environment.

Unfortunately, synthetically dyeing products like vegan leather remains some
of the most toxic stages within the fashion industry. By combining both the manufacturing and dyeing processes, researchers believe they can create even more environmentally friendly wearables.

To harness both capabilities, Ellis and his colleagues genetically modified bacteria commonly used in microbial cellulose to self-produce a black pigment known as eumelanin. Over a two-week period, the team then allowed their new material to grow over a bespoke, shoe-shaped vessel. Once completed, the leather-like cellulose was loaded into a machine that gently shook it for
about 48-hours at roughly 86-degrees Fahrenheit, which stimulated the
bacteria to begin darkening from the inside out. Finally, the material was attached to a pre-made sole to reveal well, if not a shoe, then certainly a shoe-shaped vessel. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course. But if
the bulbous clogs arent your style, maybe the teams other example -- a simple bifold wallet -- makes more sense for your daily outfit.

According to their study, the team notes they still want to cut down the celluloses water consumption even further, as well as engineering their bacterial cellulose to allow for additional colors, materials, and even patterns.

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Link to news story:
https://www.popsci.com/environment/bacteria-cell-shoe/

+ Origin: tqwNet Science News (1337:1/100)


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