9 comments

  • technotony 5 minutes ago
    I hope this works. A decade ago I submitted glowing microbes to the epa but they blocked it. My read from going through that was that it was politically impossible. Hopefully times have changed.

    Edit: my microbes were gmo, these are not, so no epa rules. Good luck to them!

  • card_zero 19 minutes ago
    > Because these algae are photosynthetic ... "We’re storing carbon while we’re producing light"

    The circle of light! Perpetual illumination! Let the algae do photosynthesis using their own light output as energy!

    What's happening, chemically? Let's see ... it's luciferin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Luciferin_Light_Emission_... Isn't that CO2 being emitted on the right, there?

  • ceejayoz 2 hours ago
    This feels like weird framing. They still need energy to produce it.

    I have a genetically engineered luminescent petunia plant. It’s neat, but a ways off from being useful for anything.

  • walrus01 1 hour ago
    It rather resembles the CGI protomolecule from 'The Expanse'.
  • Razengan 31 minutes ago
    Technically [nerd emoji] nothing is possible without electricity

    (No I don’t go to any parties)

  • cassianoleal 2 hours ago
    So can torches and candles.
  • sandworm101 1 hour ago
    Why all the bother with 3d-printed gel shapes? Why not just use a mat of these things, all glowing, and then put it behind an LCD panel. Then you can have moving pictures without all the bother of 3d printing.

    Then you can take the next step and both their apparent output further by replacing the algae with tiny blue LED modules.

    • kiba 1 hour ago
      I think it's fine for research, curiosity, aesthetic and coolness factor. Not everything need to be 'practical'.
  • m3kw9 1 hour ago
    good for car dashboards, maybe for not vital areas
    • Razengan 30 minutes ago
      I don’t want algae on my vital areas