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Inside THIS ISSUE
1 How Patience Adds Tools to My Toolbox 2 The 1814 London Beer Flood How Solar Panels Could Slow (or Stop) Your Boston Real Estate Sale 3 4 Kitchen Gadgets — Expert Recommended
Grilled Chicken Shawarma
4 Good News In Boston: Lab‑Grown Furniture?
Good News in Boston
Could Lab-Grown Wood Prevent Deforestation?
We write a lot about studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in our newsletter — the institute’s work tends to bring out some absolutely fascinating findings. However, this study is particularly interesting because it could help prevent further destruction of ecosystems worldwide with lab-grown lumber.
This solution is economically motivating, too. Only 2%–4% of harvested plant matter is actually used, which is a significant savings when you consider the large initial investment necessary for harvesting timber, including “buying, fueling, and operating logging trucks and roads.” Ashley Beckwith, a researcher and co-author of the paper, tells Fast Company, “Trees grow in tall cylindrical poles, and we rarely use tall cylindrical poles in industrial applications,” she says. “So you end up shaving off a bunch of material that you spent 20 years growing, and that ends up being a waste product.” If you could spend those 20 years growing material that is anywhere from 70%–100% usable, wouldn’t it be worth it? Although scientists haven’t grown coffee tables from petri dishes as of yet, the science is rather promising, and we’re looking forward to the progress they make! Hopefully, this will make furniture even more affordable down the line as well.
Growing meat in a lab is one thing, but how is it done with wood?
It’s actually nearly identical. This proof-of-concept study cultivated cells to divide and multiply into forms outside their parent phylum, and it became a powerful first step toward finding alternatives to forestry. According to the researchers, they were able to use a leaf from a zinnia tree to grow “plant-like tissues selectively, free from unnecessary organs.” Because plant cells respond well to “tunability,” it’s actually easier to create plant material than cell-cultured meat. In other words, we could get furniture from lab-grown materials in the near future and it could be developed at a more rapid pace than that of lab-grown meat.
Until next time, thanks for joining us!
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