Muskin “leather” is grown from fungus spores

March 12, 2018  |  Out There

The production of leather and textiles is often a resource-heavy process, and the industries are responsible for diverse impacts, including human, animal or ecological, depending on the material type and production methods. The growth in popularity of vegan lifestyle choices, as well as an increased…
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Cephalopods may be the key to better camouflage for soldiers

March 12, 2018  |  Out There

U.S. Army Operational Camouflage Pattern uniforms could benefit from a new study about cephalopods. A research team led by Leila Deravi at Northeastern University has set out to discover how the stealth capabilities of cephalopods could help protect soldiers. Cephalopods are tentacled mollusks inclu…
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Waterproof boots are made from corn

January 22, 2018  |  Out There

Your new rain boots could offer something quite distinctive; the smell of popcorn while doing chores or stomping through puddles. These nature-inspired, waterproof boots are made from rubber and recycled non-food-grade corn. They’re designed by Sebastian Thies and manufactured by the German co…
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“The Shoe That Grows” designed for children

January 8, 2018  |  Out There

In 2007, Kenton Lee was living in Nairobi, Kenya. One day he noticed a little girl wearing shoes that were way too small for her feet. Lee wondered, “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a shoe that could adjust and expand, so that kids always had a pair of shoes that fit?” And “The Shoe &…
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NASA’s BEAM textile module will stay on the ISS

December 20, 2017  |  Out There

NASA has decided to keep the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) on the International Space Station (ISS). The textile module will stay attached to the ISS through 2020, or possibly longer. The ISS crew’s studies have shown that soft materials can perform as well as rigid ones for habitation…
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Soft robot “muscles” draw inspiration from origami

December 11, 2017  |  Out There

Researchers from the Wyss Institute, Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed origami-inspired robot muscles that can lift up to 1,000 times their own weight. According to TechCrunch, the researchers…
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Pleated fabric canopy tops a floating church

December 6, 2017  |  Out There

The Diocese of London has commissioned architecture studio Denizen Works to design an unusual means of reaching church-goers: a floating church. The studio will collaborate with Turks boat builders to construct a canal boat church, meeting parishioners and neighbors where they are along the waterway…
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Researchers create an energy-harvesting bio-battery

November 20, 2017  |  Out There

Researchers at Imperial College London have created a two-in-one solar bio-battery and solar panel by printing living cyanobacteria and circuitry onto paper. The photosynthetic microorganisms have been used as ink and printed onto conductive material. The resulting experiment was able to harvest th…
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New loom promises make-at-home textiles

November 8, 2017  |  Out There

“Doti” desktop loom may add scale to cottage industry weaving. The Dot-Matrix Fabric Printer, nicknamed “Doti,” is an open-source, desktop jacquard loom designed for textile production at home. Pamela Liou is developing Doti as a project resident at Eyebeam, a nonprofit studio for collaborat…
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Saving money by 3D printing at home examined

November 7, 2017  |  Out There

Michigan Tech researchers set out to determine if the average U.S. home could save money by using a desktop 3D printer versus buying products from online retailers. An article by Beau Jackson at 3D Printing Industry outlines the findings. The researchers used NinjaFlex filament in an upgraded FlexyS…
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