The Playboy Interview
In 1961, the name of Marshall McLuhan was unknown to everyone but his English students at the University of Toronto – and a coterie of academic admirers who followed his abstruse …
Search results for Save The Humans
Ecology – A New Opium for the Masses
Marxist philosopher Slavoj Žižek discusses the 'naturalization' of capitalism and how ecology became a new field of capitalist investment. He also argues that the ultimate …
Save the Humans - Call for Quotes
NextNature.netFor our new book "Save the Human" we invite you to submit quotes that question the autonomy of mankind in the digital computer era and study the future of the independent creative spirit.
Save The Humans @ The Hoxton Hotel
Next Thursday, February 11, the Hoxton Hotel in Amsterdam dedicates an evening to our newest publication: 'Save the Humans!'
Save The Humans – Submit your Quote
NextNature.netWe call upon you, dear readers, to participate in a new publication from the Next Nature Network: SAVE THE HUMANS!.
The Coronation
Charles EisensteinFor years, normality has been stretched nearly to its breaking point, a rope pulled tighter and tighter, waiting for a nip of the black swan’s beak to snap it in two. Now that the …
Simulacra and Simulations
The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true. -Ecclesiastes If we were able to take as the …
An Ecstatic Dialogue with Richard Doyle
Jason SilvaWhen techno–optimist and fellow at the Hybrid Reality Institute , Jason Silva, meets with Richard Doyle, author of Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants and the Evolution of the …
There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkSo you’re triggered by our call for products and now you’re considering to send in one, two or maybe three of your brilliant products for the Nano Supermarket? Good. Or – and this …
The World Without Technology
Kevin KellyI remember the smoke the most. That pungent smell permeating the camps of tribal people. Everything they touch is infused with the lingering perfume of smoke – their food, …
Artifice Earth: Adam Rutherford on the Promises of Synthetic Biology
NextNature.netAn interview about the history and promises of synthetic biology, and the problem with the word "nature".
A Stroll Through the Bubbles of Chemicals and Men
Etienne TurpinA stunning pre-history of the anthropocene
Here’s how the Dutch are embracing blockchain in the polder
Coen van de VenSmiling broadly and rattling with enthusiasm, the 33-year-old Rylana Doesburg shows off a QR-code on her phone: an angular pattern of black and white squares. “Thanks to this …
OUT NOW: Save the Humans! Book
NextNature.netThe SAVE THE HUMANS! book is now available on our web shop.
Billionaire space race: the ultimate symbol of capitalism's obsession with growth
Tim JacksonMars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids, laments the Rocket Man in Elton John’s timeless classic. In fact, it’s cold as hell. But that doesn’t seem to worry a new …
On the origin of the e-bike
Huub EhlhardtThe oldest known serious candidate forerunner for the bicycle is the ‘running machine’ built by the German Baron Karl von Drais. His two-wheeled machine became known as the …
On the origin of the word processor
Huub EhlhardtWriting is recognised as one of mankind’s foremost inventions and the mechanization of writing is one of these developments that typify what is commonly regarded as the work of …
On the origin of the LED lamp
Huub EhlhardtFor thousands of years people used oil lamps and candles to illuminate their homes during the hours of darkness. Neither produced much light and both were inconvenient in use as …
What’s the Point If We Can’t Have Fun?
David GraeberSince Darwin we tend to look at the biological world exclusively in economical terms. The idea that monkey's, frogs, or even ants do more than simply propagate, doesn't find much acceptance among scientists. And yet, even crayfishes at times seem to displace objects just for fun.
From Eco-Apartheid to Earth Democracy
Vandana ShivaDo humans exist merely to make money and use resources? Vandana Shiva believes humans have a higher purpose.
The 21th Century Paradigm
The history of art through the ages reveals a constancy that, by conscious or unconscious applications, provides us with an omnipresent correlation dealing with the …
The Story of our Food
Maartje SomersEvery time we eat a piece of food, we take a bite out of the world. All these small bites tell a dozen stories. A carton of eggs presents the story of contented hens, a bottle of …
Next Nature and the Curse of Oil
Tere VadénThe next step is to embrace and celebrate how cultural artifacts are escaping control, becoming autonomous, and forming the “next nature”.
Living Among Pests – Designing the Biosynthetic City
Joyce HwangJoyce Hwang discusses the challenges for designers, and gains for citizens, of living in a truly biosynthetic city.
The Sound of the Blue Canary
Berry EggenBlue is a beautiful color, but its sound is simply irresistible. It is the song of the unhappy and the depressed. It is a sound that touches people. It was also the sound of a …
Join the Synthetic Aesthetics project
Koert van MensvoortSo, you are aware biotech will drive our evolution , you took the crash course on synthetic genomics , you've got your map of the DNA world in your backpack and are now eager to …
Enter the Symbiocene
Glenn AlbrechtWhat if we would use the idea of symbiosis as the basis for the next period of Earth’s history?
Pyramid of Technology: How technology becomes nature in seven steps
Koert van MensvoortHow technology becomes nature in seven steps
Humans Caused Mass Extinctions Before There Were Even Humans
Allison GuyHumans and other hominids have a reputation for bringing about mass extinctions. Homo erectus has been blamed for the disappearance of many African carnivores, our ancestors …
Yes, Naturally
Ine GeversThe introductory essay from the Yes, Naturally book - available in our store!
Whether or not we should engineer the Weather
Minke Kampman"Owning the Weather" is a documentary about geo-engineering by Robert Greene. It's about whether or not we should engineer the weather and the different impacts that this has. …
I Want Wings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nicholas CarrRead Nicholas Carr's essay on the transhumanist dream of having wings.
As Corn Withers in the Drought, Farmers Fatten Their Cows on Candy
Allison GuyFarmers have long made frugal use of their table scraps, feeding their leftovers to hogs, dogs and now, cows. In a bizarre sign of our cash-strapped and climate-changing …
The Golden Quarter
Michael HanlonSome of our greatest cultural and technological achievements took place between 1945 and 1971. Why has progress stalled?
Can AI become addicted?
Thomas Moynihan, Anders SandbergIn 1953, a Harvard psychologist thought he discovered pleasure – accidentally – within the cranium of a rat. With an electrode inserted into a specific area of its brain, the rat …
'The Invention of Morel’ is a techno-lovestory from the future, written in 1940
NextNature.netOctavio Paz says calls The Invention of Morel , “ without exaggeration… a perfect novel. ” According to Borges, “ to classify [it] as perfect is neither an …
Moral Shortcomings in the Technology Debate
Rinie van EstDigital and genetic techniques increasingly influence life. Our belief in progress through technology stands in the way of a moral debate on this development. By Rinie van Est We …
Growth is not the problem, but the solution
NextNature.netIf we want to bring down global CO2 emissions to zero, we will need technological innovation and massive infrastructure projects.
Hello, superorganism
Koert van MensvoortWhen I was a kid, my parents took me to the beach every summer. We’d swim in the ocean and play on our inflatable raft in the surf. When the tide was low, I’d build a sand castle …
Interview: Liam Young on Speculative Architecture and Engineering the Future
NextNature.netInterview with Liam Young on his work in speculative architecture, the future, and our role in nature as humans.
The world’s plastic problem is bigger than the ocean
Christopher J. PrestonAs you read this, a strange object that looks like a 2,000-foot floating pool noodle is drifting slowly through the central north Pacific Ocean. This object is designed to solve …
The future of the ECO Coin
Koen WeselHow can we design a cryptocurrency for the better of humanity and ecology? In this last chapter of the crypto deep dive series , we will dissect two kinds of blockchain …
Totem Animals for the Anthropocene
Ted HeistmanInvasive species become the animal symbols for a man-made world.
But will lab-grown meat be kosher?
Benjamin Aldes WurgaftRead Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft's essay on judaism in relation to the production of laboratory-grown meat.
The Technological Sublime
Jos de MulThe sublime is an aesthetic concept of 'the exalted,' of beauty that is grand and dangerous. Through 17th and 18th century European intellectual tradition, the sublime became …
The Uncanny Valley of the Pussycat Dolls
Koert van MensvoortMake no mistake, you're not looking at the latest Barbie line: These are the The Pussycat Dolls. Formerly an LA stripper show burlesque show, now upgraded to be pop music …
Inverting the energy paradigm with Charles Eisenstein
NextNature.netEnergy policy blah blah blah, life cycle analysis blah blah blah, energy return on energy invested, peak oil, carbon footprint, renewables, hydro, nuclear, blah blah blah blah …
The prehistoric importance of trading technology
Nicholas R. LongrichThen, as now, one person could literally change the course of history, with nothing more than an idea.
The Prefuture of Synthetic Biology
Alexandra Daisy GinsbergAlexandra Daisy Ginsberg discusses the promises and realities of synthetic biology.
Humans Are the Sex Organs of Technology
Written by Kevin Kelly , published in The Technium . I claim that technology has its own agenda. What is the evidence that technology as a whole, or the technium as I call it, is …
Nurturing Architecture
Ruben BaartThe way we currently build is not sustainable. We will have to develop a sustainable living environment that matches our human needs, intuitions and potential.
The Search for the "Real" Thanksgiving
Allison GuyThanksgiving is fake-for-real. While it's true that there was a minor harvest feast in 1621, held by English immigrants and Wampanoag Indians, the event was never celebrated …
Should we clone Neanderthals?
Zach ZorichIf Neanderthals ever walk the earth again, the primordial ooze from which they will rise is an emulsion of oil, water, and DNA capture beads engineered in the laboratory of 454 …
The Anthropocene Explosion
Koert van MensvoortWe have entered the Anthropocene epoch, in which humanity and its instrumentalities are the most potent and influential geological force.
Meet a group of young plant scientists who share their belief in the potential of CRISPR
NextNature.netIn the summer of 2018, the European Court of Justice (that’s Europe’s highest court) reviewed a case and concluded that gene-edited crops should be subject to the same regulations …
Nature through the Windshield
Brendan CormierVolume magazine interviews Next Nature founder Koert van Mensvoort.
Next Nature Interview
For the Venezuelan Magazine Platanoverde , Gabriela Valdivieso y Lope Gutiarrez-Ruiz interviewed artist/scientist Koert van Mensvoort and discussed some of the idea's behind Next …
Let the Dutch bury the Carbon
Koert van MensvoortToo much carbon emissions warming up the planet? No problem: just bring the stuff back to where you got it from in the first place. Experts have been advising to bury carbon …
On the prehistoric origins of modern sexuality
Ruben BaartLet’s talk about the most controversial of "m words"—monogamy. And let’s have this conversation with in mind its prehistoric origins. Our modern picture of prehistoric societies …
Innovative Nostalgia
Koert van MensvoortWe humans simply feel more comfortable with technological change when it comes in a familiar form that refers to an existing and accepted object, habit, value, tradition or intuition.
The Enlightenment Is Dead, Long Live the Entanglement
Danny HillisWe humans are changing. We have become so intertwined with what we have created that we are no longer separate from it. We have outgrown the distinction between the natural and the artificial. We are what we make.
Let the Robotic Farmers feed the World
Koert van MensvoortThe future of farming is not to be found in further mass-industrialization nor in the return to traditional farming with man and horse power, but rather in swarms of smart, cheap robotic farmers that patiently seed, tend and harvest fields one plant at a time without the need for damaging pesticides.
Can This Virtual World Save the Real One?
Alessia AndreottiA Dutch artist designs a Utopian eco-socialist online society.
From the Super Muscular Pig to the Hypoallergenic Cow: New GMOs May Soon Be on Your Plate
Alessia AndreottiThe acronym that keeps Europe awake at night is TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), a trade and investment deal that the EU is negotiating with the US. From …
Runaway Robots Hunted by the Mammals They Were Designed to Replace
Zack GottliebLast week, the U.S. Navy announced that four of their “ REMUS 100 ” unmanned underwater vehicles sailed off-radar and stopped responding to commands. The ‘bots were part of a …
How to biofabricate leather; lessons from the lab
Laura MuthLeather is one of the oldest and most versatile materials in the world. It’s a supple, tough, relatively strong and durable material and it’s relatively impermeable, yet …
Having Invented the Gods, Perhaps we can Turn into Them
Jason SilvaMy name is Jason Silva. I've spent the last 5 years hosting and producing a tv show on Al Gore's Emmy-winning Current TV network and I'm a fellow at the Hybrid Realities …
Gamers Care as Much for Their Avatar as for Their Best Friend
Koert van MensvoortEmotionally the avatar has a similar position as ones best friend, despite its "virtual" presence and the often longer lasting relationship with ones best friend.
The Carnery - A Cultured Future with In Vitro Meat
NextNature.netIn vitro meat has the capacity to transform meat production as we know it, introducing an entirely new way of thinking about and interacting with food.
Suzanne Lee wants to live in a sustainable material world. Built with biology, not oil
Ruben BaartBiotechnology is nearly as old as humanity itself. The food you eat and the pets you love? You can thank our ancestors for kickstarting the agricultural revolution, using …
CO2 injected volcanic rock could save the atmosphere
Kelly van GemertThe rapid technological advancement of the human race has led to many consequences, especially regarding the integrity of the atmosphere that protects all life on Earth. Although …
Interview: Rachel Armstrong, Innovative Scientist Who Wants to Grow Architecture
Alessia AndreottiRachel Armstrong discusses living buildings, Venice's foundations, millennial nature and how to improve our future.
The future infrastructure of the blockchain might be green and humane
Koen WeselThe connection we share through the Internet has laid the foundation for a whole new digital infrastructure, in which blockchain technology is heralded by many believers for being …
Anthropomorphobia
Koert van MensvoortAre you familiar with the affliction? Anthropomorphobia is the fear of recognizing human characteristics in non-human objects. The term is a hybrid of two Greek-derived words: …
Disney-Themed Prosthetics for Children
Ruben BaartOpen Bionics is helping children in need for bionic hands. With Iron Man, Frozen, or Star Wars-themed prosthetics, their fantasies become reality.
The "Actroid" Lives in the Uncanny Valley
Allison GuyThe Actroid robot holds clues for climbing out of the uncanny valley.
Why I'm turning my son into a cyborg
Vivienne MingImagine if everyone spoke a language that you don’t understand. It’s not a foreign language–it’s been spoken around you since the day you were born–but where as everyone else …
Humans could recolonize Earth after mass extinctions with ectogenesis
Matthew R. EdwardsLately it seems that every movie, book and video game we see is about future apocalypses. Science articles are also painting a grim future for Earth and its inhabitants. If it’s …
From Main Street to the Mansion: Disney, Playboy and the Next Nature of Sex and Death
Peter LunenfeldNature demanded that we make a choice between immortality and sex, but the Next Nature of the 21st century may not. For help, we can look back to the 20th Century, which had many …
The Biosphere Code Manifesto
NextNature.netDuring the event The Biosphere Code, Stockholm University researcher Victor Galaz and colleagues outlined a manifesto for algorithms in the environment.
Are There Pokémon on the Moon?
Ruben BaartPokémon Go is slowly taking over our planet. People know more Pokémon than bird or tree species. However, avid players will have noticed that some of the first-gen Pokémon are not available in the game yet.
Are These the Headphones of the Future?
Monika KozubNo matter which brand is going to rule the wireless headphones scene, it's time to get used to have a computer in our ear that we never need to take out. Until it may grow into it someday!
Enter the memesphere
Laura van den BrinkWhy memes might be the next tool to make sense of on our increasingly hybrid virtual and physical environment.
Controlling the Weather with Drones
Hessel HoogerhuisThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) picked six test sites throughout the US to experiment with drone-based cloud seeding.
The Evolution of the Richer
Diogo CorreiaAre we on the verge of a future human evolution, one that isn’t, at least in it’s very core, “the survival of the fittest”, but rather “the evolution of the richer”? Think about …
Interview: Arne Hendriks, Researcher and "Father" of The Incredible Shrinking Man
Alessia AndreottiHendriks’s activity explores the positive transformative power of creative impulses and the importance of fundamental free scientific research.
Could Biomimicry Help us Solve the Refugee Crisis?
Daniel FragaFrom nutrients within an organism, to organisms within collectives, to populations within a territory and so on - nature offers models on how to deal with highly complex systems.
The Breathe Table - Visceral Interaction
Koert van MensvoortNow why is that girl so excitingly staring at a few blurry blobs on a flat screen? Is it because these blobs are connected to her breath... What? Yes that is right, you are …
The Anthropocene Debate: Marking Humanity’s Impact
Elizabeth KolbertIs human activity altering the planet on a scale comparable to major geological events of the past? Scientists are now considering whether to officially designate a new …
Living in the Forest in the 21st Century
Alessia AndreottiPortraits of people who live alone in the forest.
The Mood Ring of the 21th Century
NextNature.netThe Moodmetric ring measures the autonomous nervous system signals that can be used to understand emotional reactions and improve quality of life.
The Evolution Of The Desk 1980 - 2014
Francesca BarchiesiObjects that normally used to surround us became more and more virtual, radically changing the aspect of our workplace.
The Ocean Cleanup heads for the Pacific
Koert van MensvoortThe Ocean Cleanup claims its device could cut the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in half in five years.
Under the Beach Lies the Pavement
Koert van MensvoortDuring the riots of 1968 , as students in Paris ripped up paving stones and threw them at the police, one of the rallying cries was “sous le pave: la plage” (under the pavement: …
Bioprinting in the Kitchen of the Future
Alessia AndreottiCultivator is speculative design project on how bioprinting could find its way into the kitchen of the future.
Why human enhancement requires technological citizenship
Ira van Keulen and Rinie van EstNew technologies – from artificial intelligence to synthetic biology – are set to alter the world, the human condition, and our very being in ways that are hard to imagine. The …
The Solar Biennale: new perspectives on the energy of the sun
NextNature.netThe sun lies at the heart of our solar system, providing life-giving light, heat and energy to Earth. The sun always gives, without asking for anything in return. In the …
Three exhibitions that explore the relationship between humans and the environment
Freya HutchingsAs we go about our daily activities, we may lose sight of our connections with nonhuman life. Here are three exhibitions to encourage you to step outside of your everyday and …
Deadline to save the World: 30th August
Koert van MensvoortPicnic Green Challenge calls upon people like you to invent a product or service that can help to save the world. Restore the planet's harmony and lets you win 500.000 Euro on the …
"Soylent" Liquid Meals Will Save the World
Alice FumeyCan a meal replacer save us money, time, and maybe even save the world?
Moon Gallery: the first museum in space
The Moon Gallery aims to set up the first permanent museum on the Moon. Soon launching to the International Space Station, full of ideas worth sending to the Moon. The gallery is …
The Self-Portrait of the Digital Age
Alessia AndreottiThe series Museum of Selfies combines the original art of portraiture with its modern counterpart, the the smartphone self-portrait.
The Robot Versus the Sign
Arnoud van den HeuvelQuote Eric Horvitz : "After finishing my doctoral work, I returned to Stanford Medical School to finish up the MD part of my MD/PhD. During one of my last clinical rotations, I …
The 10th Anniversary of the World's First Lab-Grown Steak
Allison GuyMany people don't know that growing and cooking in vitro meat is a decade old.
The Weather Machine
Alessia AndreottiThe Weather Machine: an installation that explores rain, clouds and sun heat to recreate the weather occurring outside.
The Institute of Digital Fashion explore what's next in the industry
Trading animal skins for pixels, our digital selves call for a digital wardrobe. The Institute of Digital Fashion , led by CommuneEast founder Leanne Elliott Young and Digi-Gxl …
Highlanders in the Lowlands: Re-enactment of an Extinct Cow
Koert van MensvoortAt the end of every cold winter there is a debate in the Netherlands on whether the forestry service should feed the oxes, horses and deers grazing the Dutch nature resorts. The …
The Bottle of The Future is an Edible Blob
Francesca BarchiesiWhat if we could drink from a giant drop of water? The bottle of the future has the shape of a soft, hygienic, biodegradable and edible blob.
Welcome to the Hearth of the Sun
Alessia AndreottiSolarium, a video installation by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), puts visitors in the hearth of the sun.
The birth of the artificial womb
Alessia AndreottiResearchers in Tokyo have developed an artificial womb (for goats).
Entryparadise
Written by Werner Lippert & Peter Wippermann, Curators of the Entryparadise exhibition (26/8 until 3/12, 2006, at Kohlenwäsche, Zollverein) Design is about to undergo a …
The return of direct democracy: Introducing a digital agora to the crypto-world
Koen WeselIn Ancient Greece the people were part of a direct-democracy, this means that they would directly vote for policies and laws. Nowadays, it seems as though this horizontal approach …
Save The Tumor
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkChantal Sebire suffers from an extremely rare form of cancer (foto: AFP) Since a few centuries some we tend to consider nature as something to preserve. Hence the international …
The first map of the internet
Arnoud van den HeuvelIts simplicity is one of a kind and it takes my breath when I realize that this little drawing is actually the internets Big Bang point of origin. It shows the first node on the …
The Evolution of the Treble Clef
Allison GuyNongenetic evolution strikes again in the elaborate shape of the treble clef.
The Candle of the Future
Alessia AndreottiMy New Flame uses LED technology to faithfully recreate the experience of light from the ancient past
The Brain Is as Complex as All the World's Digital Data
Alessia AndreottiWith advances in genomics, imaging and other technology,scientists have to face the age of big data.
Save the Coral: Dump a Tank
Koert van MensvoortOur peculiar image of the week learns us that what is good for the environment doesn't always look good for the environment. The adieu of this disused tank into the Gulf of …
Yes Naturally: How Art Saves the World
Allison GuyA new book explores who (or what) gets to define what is "natural".
Next Generation: Towards the Plastic Human with Max Ahluwalia
NextNature.netThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Press [CTRL] [S] to save the environment
Koert van MensvoortThe people at Preem.se – the Swedish organization responsible for this advertisement – must think this is the way to promote environmental protection with a younger generation of …
Let the Bacteria do the Cleaning
Koert van MensvoortDusting furniture and floors should be history in forty years time, as special bacteria in a yet to develop cleaning product will be eating the dirt. The speculative cleaning …
Wow, Cool! A 3D model of the Save Icon!
Koert van MensvoortWhen a floppy disk becomes a 3D printed save icon.
Join us for the Other Dinner
NextNature.netIf you happen to be in Amsterdam this weekend, attend the other dinner at Waag Society.
All Humans Piled Together Are So Tiny
Francesca BarchiesiAll humans on Earth put together are not enough to fill the Grand Canyon. We are so small yet so present.
Breathe, Believe, Surf the Web
TimoA while ago a plan was proposed within the European Union to add a “Three Strikes, Out” law regarding to copyright infringement. After three accuses of copyright infringement by …
Welcome to the CRISPR baby world—here’s what you should know
Vanessa Bates RamirezLast week, the gene editing world was hit by news the equivalent of a nuclear bomb. In a video on YouTube , Dr. Jiankui He at Southern University of Science and Technology in …
The Pigeon that Shat the Golden Soap
Allison GuyEver wished you could take a shower with pigeon poop? Artist Tuur van Balen proposes changing pigeons from flying rats to cleaning agents. A speculative, specially engineered …
Where the Other Half Lives
Allison GuyMap-enthusiast Valerie Pieris has created a fascinating visualization of human population centers. We all know that a huge fraction of humanity lives in Asia, but this map really …
Up in the North: the Rising Kingdom of Google Earth
Koert van MensvoortNation states and geographical borders. But for how long?
All the Flights in the World
Koert van MensvoortIndulge in this video simulation that displays the flight path of every commercial flight in the world over a 24-hour period.
![Visual of Manko & The Children [#9]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2011/manko-the-children-9/3d8fe20352-1602632753/manko9-868x486.jpg)
Manko & The Children [#9]
Aston RevolaAs they went down the elevator shaft, going deeper underground, neither Nada nor Manko spoke a word. To Manko it seemed to take forever. In his mind, he went over the long …
Let the Drones take care of the Biosphere
Koert van MensvoortDrones are typically thought of as flying spying robots, or even worse flying spying shooting robots. But could we also employ drones for good? The people of …
Next Generation: Louise Silfversparre illustrates the remains of the Anthropocene
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Let the plants do the dirty work.
Koert van MensvoortMathieu Lehanneur created a plant-powered indoor filtration system, that pulls in filthy air to be processed through a plant's leaves, roots, and humidity, reintroducing purified …
Save our Next Nature! Buy the book
A critical and visual take on culturally emerged Nature. Full of statements from designers and thinkers from around the globe. Wild systems, Genetic Surprises, Calm Technology, …
When there's smoke, there's nature
Rolf CoppensWhen I was a kid, I thought that people that could make smoke circles were really cool. Now I think machines that can do that are even cooler!Â? Made by Takeshi Ishiguro
Out of Control
The Made and the Born: Neo-Biological civillization, written by Kevin Kelly, excerpt from Out of Control : The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World, …
Exploring Next Nature (2004)
Koert van MensvoortThe first essay ever written on Next Nature, published in Next Nature Pocket and in Entry Paradise, New Design Worlds . ( download pdf ) (German version: Erkundungen im Nächste …
After the reboot, meet the Homo Evolutis
Koert van MensvoortAt this year's TED conference , held in Long Beach California, Biotechnologist Juan Enriquez argued that even as mega-banks topple, the big reboot is yet to come. It will come …
Breaking Point?
John Zerzan, published in Green Anarchy issue #24 - Spring/Summer 2007 The rapidly mounting toll of modern life is worse than we could have imagined. A metamorphosis rushes …
Douglas Coupland: A radical pessimist's guide to the next 10 years
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDouglas Coupland is a writer and artist based in Vancouver. For the canadian newspaper Globe and Mail, he wrote The ‘radical pessimist's guide to the next 10 years’ a dystopian …
Growing the Future of Meat
Christina AgapakisOutside of the limits imposed by the edges of an animal’s body, the cells can reproduce and multiply until they exhaust the nutrients and space provided, filling petri dishes and vats to grow the future of meat.
Next Generation: In the Post Wilderness with Melissa Schwarz
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
The information age is starting to transform fishing worldwide
NextNature.net, Ioana TomiciPeople in the world’s developed nations live in a post-industrial era, working mainly in service or knowledge industries. Manufacturers increasingly rely on sensors, robots, …
Interview: Leanne Wijnsma, Designer for the Instinct Who Uses Smell as Medium
Ruben BaartDutch experience designer Leanne Wijnsma designs for the human instinct and puts the sense of smell back to where it belongs, as modern hazards have shifted to the digital realm.
Interview: Curator Ilari Laamanen on Momentum9, the Nordic Biennial
Ruben BaartWe recently spoke to Ilari Laamanen, to peel the outcrops of Momemtum9, and unveil the overlapping themes to the next nature philosophy.
Razorius Gilletus – On the Origin of a Next Species
Koert van MensvoortIs the evolution of the single bladed razor into an exorbitant five–bladed vibrating gizmo the outcome of human needs, or is there another force in play? Say hello to Razorius …
When will the first baby be born in space?
Chris ImpeyWhen the first baby is born off-Earth, it will be a milestone as momentous as humanity’s first steps out of Africa . Such a birth would mark the beginning of a multi–planet …
The GeneSprout Initiative: cultivating new plant breeding techniques
NextNature.netSome 10,000 years ago humans began to domesticate plants and animals. The birth of agriculture, one of the earliest technologies available.
A Society of Simulations
Koert van MensvoortAn interviewer once asked Pablo Picasso why he paints such strange pictures instead of painting things the way they are. Picasso asks the man what he means. The man then takes out …
Lions Relocate to the Suburbs
Allison GuyAs cities push to the edges of the wilderness, wild animals are increasingly com
An introduction to Biomimicry
Janine BenyusThe first time I explained biomimicry to a stranger was not in a talk or a workshop but in a big-box bookstore just after Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature had come out. I …
Aleph Farms wants to bring clean meat from the lab to the next farming industry
Kelly van GemertGrowing meat artificially, instead of within an animal, may soon be an available reality. Meet one of the pioneering developers of this product of the future: Aleph Farms. With …
Talking Nonhuman Nonsense
Nonhuman Nonsense is a research-driven design and art studio existing somewhere between utopia and dystopia. They wonder upon our relationship with the non-human, embracing …
Microbiocene: A microbiological archeology of the future
Linda ValentaIn configuring our next nature, artists and scientists explore new languages that move beyond the Anthropocene - the era of human beings. These semantics would bridge the gap …
Why insects are not the new sushi
Jonas HousePeople across the world have been eating insects for thousands of years. We know that approximately 2,000 species are edible and that these insects are eaten in many different …
A digital twin of the Earth could make the planet climate-neutral
MaithriWhile Elon Musk may be trying to initiate efforts to colonize Mars, scientists on Earth are attempting to build an accurate digital twin of the planet to simulate in the future. …
Next Generation: Sensing the Critical Zone with Menno Brouwer
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
Faustian Bargains and Pineapple Shampoo
Since the early days of the net, the electronic pastoral has lent itself to all sorts of dubious agendas pushed by science, the military and even libertarian tendencies. In the …
The AI Revolution Is On
Ruben DaasSteven Levy writes in Wired on the unexpected turn of the Artificial Intelligence revolution: rather than whole artificial minds, it consists of a rich bestiary of digital fauna, …
Is the Human Body Redundant?
Rachel ArmstrongThe increasing ‘liveliness’ of machines and accessibility to the virtual world has raised questions about whether it is possible to uncouple the mind from the body in through a …
![Visual of Manko & The Invitation [#3]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2010/manko-the-invitation-3/a58a0af2b6-1602632753/manco-2-530-868x486.jpg)
Manko & The Invitation [#3]
Aston RevolaLast month we discussed how the vacuum played a big role in Manko's life since he lost his right leg. Soon he developed this idea further, beyond the mere notion of extensions …
![Visual of Manko & Time [#13, The End]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2011/manko-time-13-the-end/ad243e97e0-1602632753/manko13-868x486.jpg)
Manko & Time [#13, The End]
Aston RevolaMany things have been rumored about the artist called Manko since he vanished about a year ago. Some even went so far as to claim he had died. So it was all over the news when …
Intimate Technology: the Battle for Our Body and Behaviour
Rinie van EstTechnology is nestling itself within us and between us, has knowledge about us and can act just like us.
They are made out of meat
Dr NaturalA short story by Terry Bisson. For those who prefer video to literature, there's also this seven-minute film adaptation . "They're made out of meat." "Meat?" "Meat. They're made …
There Are More People Flying in Airplanes right Now, than there were Alive on Earth in the Stone Age
Koert van MensvoortToday there are on average there are some 8000 planes in the sky carrying at least half a million people. On average during the Stone Age there must have been less.
An afternoon with Josh Tetrick: The man who wants to bring in vitro meat to the market by 2018
Ruben BaartMeet Josh Tetrick, entrepreneur who wants to reinvent the food industry and plans to launch lab-grown meat on the market by the end of 2018.
Interview: Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Designer and Synthetic Biology Expert
Alessia AndreottiAn interview with Daisy Ginsberg, artist and synthetic biologist.
Interview: Bruce Sterling on the Convergence of Humans and Machines
NextNature.netWe had the honor of hosting Bruce Sterling in our Next Nature Network headquarters to talk to him about the concept of the convergence of humans and machines.
Meet the Weather Drone
NextNature.netThe Weather Drone controls the weather, it makes sure the sun will shine on your birthday, or that the rain will fall during a period of drought.
How the Dutch government is obstructing the advent of in vitro meat
Ruben BaartIn 2017, two years after her father died , Ira van Eelen decided to call the Dutch Arable Farming Union. She couldn't help but wonder how come the Netherlands was still not …
The World is not a Desktop
Mark Weiser (originally written for ACM Interactions ). What is the metaphor for the computer of the future? The intelligent agent? The television (multimedia)? The 3-D graphics …
Back to the Tribe
Koert van MensvoortTraditionally, technology is seen as a force that diminishes our instincts and puts us at a distance of nature. Increasingly however, we realize technology can also energize and …
The Ecological Human
Rachel ArmstrongThe nature of humanity in the twenty-first century is, according to sociologist Steve Fuller, a ‘bipolar disorder’ beset with dualisms of identification such as divine/animal, …
The Coming World: Ecology as the new politics
NextNature.netIn science fiction and popular science, 2030 is often suggested as the year in which our planet will run out of oil. Similarly, 2100 will be the year that, according to …
Meet the lungs of the sea: phytoplankton
Abigail McQuatters-GollopPhytoplankton are microscopic algae living throughout the ocean’s surface waters. They can’t swim and are at the mercy of the currents and tides. Despite their small size, …
Humans to Blame for Global Warming
Koert van MensvoortGlobal warming is "very likely" a human-caused problem that will last for centuries and require concerted international action to reduce its potentially devastating impacts, a …
The Idea for Lab-Grown Meat Was Born in a Prisoner-of-War Camp
Chase PurdyThe phone call was as unexpected as the American accent at the other end of the line. And when she hung up a few moments later, Ira van Eelen had to stop to catch her breath. More …
The sense of privacy
NextNature.netHumans’ natural sense of privacy helps them regulate the boundaries of public and private, but fail when trying to identify privacy risks in the online world.
How AI and genomics will impact the future of making babies
Vanessa Bates RamirezAs if stand-alone technologies weren’t advancing fast enough, we’re in age where we must study the intersection points of these technologies. How is what’s happening in robotics …
Oded Ezer discusses the future of typography and the importance of dreaming
Freya HutchingsOded Ezer is a typographer from Israel who never fails to push boundaries, or rather, discard them altogether. Ezer is a rebellious force that swings between commercial and …
Three ways farms of the future can feed the planet and heal it too
Karen Rial-LoveraIntensive agriculture may be nourishing most of the Earth’s inhabitants, but it’s doing the opposite to earth itself. Its dependence on singular crops, heavy ploughing machinery, …
Why superhuman technologies will affect us all
peter joostenWhen you look through a super-telescope, you can still see the planet Earth. Once called the blue planet, she now looks red and parched. We had no choice but to abandon her… On a …
How a museum encourages its visitors to examine their relationship with their environment
Linda ValentaLast month I had the opportunity to immerse myself in Tokyo’s newly opened digital art landscape, the Mori Digital Art Museum. The museum stands out for it enables virtual …
Towards a global society as a superorganism
Ruben Baart and Britta de VriesToday we hold the ability to gather a lot of knowledge, thanks to science. We are able to watch, analyze, manipulate and change matter to the nano-level. This makes it tempting to …
Why we need to get better at predicting space weather
NextNature.netThe Sun is the most important source of energy for sustaining life on Earth, but it gives us a lot more than just light and heat. It also gives us solar storms.
The metaverse isn't here yet, but it already has a long history
Tom BoellstorffMany aspects of the current metaverse were already familiar 143 years ago.
Diseases Of The Future
Alessia AndreottiNowadays humans suffer from diseases that didn't exist in the past, a trend that will probably continue into the future. A wide range of new disorders, especially related to the …
How 'Dune' explores the geopolitics behind resource extraction
Oli MouldDune offers a useful allegorical narrative of the “scramble for Africa”, which saw European empires carve up the continent into colonized powers.
Synthetic skin is bringing the sense of touch to VR
Britta de VriesCurrent social distancing measures are all about keeping a physical distance from each other in order to flatten the curve. But this does not mean we have to keep a distance from …
This expo explores the open ends of the apocalypse
NextNature.netThe exhibition "Apocalypse - End Without End" shows that the end is a human invention
This year's electronic waste weighs more than the Great Wall of China
Vanessa Bates RamirezIt’s widely known that the world has a plastics problem. What’s less widely known is that we have a similar problem with another kind of waste: electronics
We sequenced the oldest ever DNA, from million-year old mammoths
NextNature.netMost people think of mammoths as the iconic woolly species from the last Ice Age, which ended around 12,000 years ago. But mammoths originated in Africa around 5 million years …
Four visions for the future of public transport
Marcus EnochThe way people get around is starting to change, and as a professor of transport strategy I do rather wonder if the modes of transport we use today will still be around by the …
The "Dog" That Will Save Lives
Margherita OlivoA laboratory is developing a synthetic dog that will be used for surgery trials, saving many canine lives and changing the veterinary world.
How biotechnology could shape the future of product design
Ruben BaartHumans have been manipulating living things for thousands of years. Examples of early biotechnologies include domesticating plants and animals and then selectively breeding them …
Interview: Huub Ehlhardt on the evolution of products
Kelly van Gemert"To understand why a product is the way it is today, you need to learn about its evolutionary background." Meet Huub Ehlhardt, an engineer with a PhD in product design . Huub …
What we can learn from 'The Social Dilemma'
Vanessa Bates RamirezIs social media ruining the world? Dramatic political polarization. Rising anxiety and depression. An uptick in teen suicide rates. Misinformation that spreads like wildfire. The …
The Petunia Carnage
Marit BeerseTo pay tribute to the destroyed orange petunias during the Petunia crisis, Klaus Pichler has composed an illustrative book.
Come See the Berg!
Koert van MensvoortSo you’ve seen the peak of the Mount Everest on tour ? Descended the bobsled ride of the Matterhorn in a Disneyland ? Think you’ve seen it all? Now come and see The Berg in …
The secret life of fungi
Edith HammerWhen you think of fungi, you’ll probably picture a huddle of chubby brown mushrooms, or the large, red-capped toadstools you stumble across in the woods. In doing so, you’re …
Exploring public spaces, landmarks and landscapes in ‘Beneath the Surface’ expo
Marit BeerseThe ‘Beneath the Surface’ exhibition organized by Taiwan Designers’ Web at the Chiayi Art Museum teaches us about unconventional connections, past and future.
To save forests, researchers are hooking trees up to Twitter (again)
NextNature.netIn July 2018, a century-old red oak went live on Twitter. The account @awitnesstree , tweeting from the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, introduces itself in its bio: …
"A forest is a society of trees that communicate and help one another"
Tracy MetzIn conversation with Canadian researcher Suzanne Simard, inventor of the Wood Wide Web.
Donna Harrway rejects the doomsday rhetoric of the Anthropocene
NextNature.netFor multispecies feminist theorist Donna J. Haraway, “it matters what stories make worlds, what worlds make stories.” She studies the current age as the Chthulucene (chthon, …
Next Generation: producing glass from the ashes
Marit BeerseBenedikt Peirotén has started a project called ‘From the Ashes’ proposing using waste streams to replace the energy-intensive ingredients in glass.
Project Natal: You are the Cursor
Arnoud van den HeuvelToday browsing and gaming is dominated by the shortcomings of machines, for machines simply do not know who is on the other end. Man needs to interact; therefore man needs to …
Complexity and Evolving Synthetic Soil
Rachel ArmstrongTwenty-first century society draws from a world that is less determined by objects and increasingly shaped by connectivity. The clear either/or distinctions that formerly informed …
HUBOT: Meet the Shiva Therapist
NextNature.netMeet the Shiva Therapist fro HUBOT. She massages with her own hands, but for the heavy work, she has four additional robotic arms at her disposal.
Next Generation: Hearing the first breath of Earth with Dora Lionstone
NextNature.netThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Blocking the sun with dust
Vanessa Bates RamirezIn the past few years, scientists have hatched some pretty crazy-sounding schemes in the name of protecting Earth and its inhabitants. From building an underwater wall 120 …
Bonobos (And Maybe Baboons) Domesticated Themselves
Allison GuyWhile evidence indicates that humans domesticated themselves , we're not the only primates capable of self-domestication. Bonobos and baboons have shown they are just as capable …
Interview: Suzanne Lee, Fashion Innovator Who Grows Clothing in the Laboratory
Alessia AndreottiWe recently talked with Suzanne Lee about the textile industry and technology, growing leather in the lab, and the use of new alternative materials in the future of fashion.
The Economy of Ecology
Lewis JustWhat if we could redesign the system to work for humanity and the planet we call home? What would the economy of ecology look like?
A New Take on the Tree
IzzyWoodsMany people will have heard of the infamous swastika made up of larches that revealed itself every autumn in a forest outside Berlin . The trees, which turned yellow at the end …
In Defense of the Eggplant
Ruben BaartThe eggplant emoji became a political weapon and gain cult status being the forbidden fruit of the web.
Interview: Mike Thompson and Susana Cámara Leret, Designers Exploring Alternative Ways of Thinking & Doing
Ingmar NieuweboerInterview with Mike Thompson and Susana Cámara Leret.
Transportations Of The Future
Francesca BarchiesiA selection of nine enthralling and striking concepts of future way of transportation.
These are the 'meltwater lakes' of Antartica
Jennifer ArthurDuring the Antarctic summer, thousands of mesmerising blue lakes form around the edges of the continent’s ice sheet, as warmer temperatures cause snow and ice to melt and collect …
Next Generation: Lucrezia Alessandroni's living menstrual cup
NextNature.netWhat if living objects could re-connect humans with their menstrual cycle and change the way we perceive it?
Better than the real thing
Koert van MensvoortTake a bite from this pear and I'll spare you all the default connotations with the apple of eden. Source photo by Pablo Montanez . See also Modernistic Watermelon , Ferrari …
In Vitro Meat: Animal Liberation?
NextNature.netMany people welcome in vitro meat because of what it may mean for animals. Even though they often find the idea strange, the promise for animals is widely felt as a source of hope.
The Museum of Edible Earth
Ruben BaartWe spoke with the Museum of Edible Earth, a travelling museum dedicated to the prosperous amount of soil samples.
How the ECO Coin could bridge the gap between sustainable farming and monetary returns
MaithriFor the last six months millions of Indian farmers have been marching through the national capital in an effort to repeal the laws that they believe would end guaranteed pricing …
Green roofs improve the urban environment – so why don't all buildings have them?
Michael Hardman and Nick DaviesRooftops covered with grass, vegetable gardens and lush foliage are now a common sight in many cities around the world. More and more private companies and city authorities are …
It's been fifty years since we took the first full photo of Earth from space
Robert PooleThe image of the whole Earth as seen from space has become a symbol of the environmental movement. Time for an update?
“That modernist dream of the house as butler, that’s not going to happen”
Helmke van GeelLooking at evolution, we see that there’s always a next nature. Nature changes along with us. How will that influence our way of life in the future?
![Visual of Manko & The Earth [#12]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2011/manko-the-earth-12/b1f1cf8f03-1602632753/manko12-868x486.jpg)
Manko & The Earth [#12]
Aston RevolaZero: 'Where to begin? We've had many discussions in our Lab about the future of the children. The plan was simple: to raise the kids to the physical age to be 'frozen' in. Then, …
Next Generation: Building Aquatecture with Shaakira Jassat
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Coffee... without the beans
Vanessa Bates RamirezAs with many of the products we consume, there’s a cost beyond what we pay at the store. Producing coffee has an environmental cost, too.
Next Nature disasters: the Facebook outage of 2021
Veronica FanzioWhere were you on the 4th October 2021? During the day that will be remembered for the Facebook outage, not everyone was equally impacted.
The surrealist were telling the truth
Koert van MensvoortAfter Magritte; Surrealism in the 21th century. Peculiar image of the week, created by Isabel Lucena.
The Ideal Phone Might Be The noPhone
Rolf CoppensYour next phone could be the noPhone: a technology-free alternative to any smart mobile device.
Letter to Humanity
Koert van MensvoortNNN director Koert van Mensvoort writes a letter to humanity.
In vitro meat hits the market
Nellie FriedrichHumanity has an insatiable hunger for meat. Since 2013 we have been researching, developing and campaigning for a humane and eco-friendly way to get our protein fix. Since day one …
CrackBerry addicts are suing their Employers
Dr NaturalNo self-respecting manager would be without a BlackBerry. But now these handheld gadgets, which provide workaholics with constant email updates, are being blamed for chronic …
Friending, Ancient or Otherwise
By ALEX WRIGHT, Published in NY Times December 2, 2007 The growing popularity of social networking sites like Facebook , MySpace and Second Life has thrust many of us into a new …
‘Optimism is our duty’: A conversation with Koert van Mensvoort
Ruben BaartWe live in a world in which we control the biology of a tomato at such precision, you could think of it as a product of technology, instead of a product of nature. Think about it, …
Interview: Nadine Bongaerts, Synthetic Biologist Bridging Science with Society
NextNature.netWe recently talk to Nadine Bongaerts about the role and impact of synthetic biology, the gap between biosciences and society and the importance of communication to overcome the fear of new technologies.
Are we living in a superorganism?
Ruben BaartThe coverstory of Next Nature Magazine investigates how the rise of virtual influencers on social media reveals a superorganism.
ECO Currency – A Proposal to Balance Economical and Environmental Value
Koert van MensvoortImagine we would have an alternative monetary currency for environmental value. Would the rain forest still be destroyed if there existed an ECO–currency to express its value and …
The Digital Mythology of... Super Mario
Daniel FragaMythology still surrounds us, we just relate to it differently. Games and movies have replaced pantheons and folk tales. Fairies and gnomes left the forests and the rivers and moved to virtual realities.
Experiments in the Revival of Organisms
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkExperiments in the Revival of Organisms is a 1940 motion picture which documents Soviet research into the resuscitation of clinically dead organisms by Doctor Sergey Sergeyevich …
Reading the Body: Finger Length Ratio Predicts Athletic Ability
Martijn van MensvoortThe human body is increasingly recognized as a biometric source of information for a wide spectrum of issues, including security, psychopathology, personality and health. Earlier …
The beginner's guide to biohacking
Peter JoostenWhat is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the term 'biohacking'? Perhaps you are now thinking of a bunch of kids sitting in their kitchen with a DNA kit, (wannabe) …
Next hospitals: How virtual reality is shaping the future of medicine
Jack CaulfieldAnd it’s already showing incredible results. VR transports us to faraway worlds without even asking us to leave our chairs. Yet we usually hear about it in the context of video …
Next Generation: The speculative futures of Deborah Rhyner
NextNature.netThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
Max Liboiron: "Pollution is Colonialism"
Ruben Baart, MaithriWe now live in a world where plastics are becoming a part of our marine ecosystems. As a result, we strive hard to clean the plastics from our oceans. Dr. Max Liboiron ( Michif …
The Limits and Beyond: A report about the future
Marit BeerseIn 1972, the Club of Rome published The Limits to Growth, a report about the future of the world. They described the limits of the world’s resources and what it is capable of …
The carbon footprint of space tourism
Eloise MaraisThe commercial race to get tourists to space is heating up between Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. On Sunday 11 July, Branson ascended …
The Internet of Mycelium
Kelly van GemertA lot of the ground we live on is polluted. More than a third of our soils are moderately or heavily degraded; heavy metals such as lead are increasingly found in urban soils, …
Colonizing Mars: Not with humans, but plants
MaithriThe idea of colonizing Mars has become the big speculative future of humanity on Earth. But, artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg has radically different ideas to contribute to the …
The Next Hacking Frontier: Your Brain
Dr NaturalWiredScience writes: Hackers who commandeer your computer are bad enough. Now scientists worry that someday, they’ll try to take over your brain. In the past year, researchers …
Next Nature Movie #6: The Matrix
Koert van MensvoortIn the last few decades there have been numerous films that take the struggle between mankind and its increasingly intelligent and autonomous technology as a leitmotif. Ranging …
The Monsters We Deserve
Allison GuyRecently, a video clip has been circulating the web that purportedly shows a rabbit born earless due to the radiation at Fukushima. BoingBoing has a convincing take-down of the …
ECO Coin Lab at Welcome to the Village
NextNature.netLast weekend the ECO coin ran its second living lab at Welcome to the Village festival. We wanted to experiment with making our new sustainable currency more social and test our new ECO coin payment system.
Lucas Foglia's photography explores the uneasy relationship between humans and nature
Laura MalloneeThere’s no place on earth untouched by human activity: This was clear as Lucas Foglia whizzed across the vast, white expanse of Alaska's Juneau Ice Field last summer. He was …
Study finds humans still evolving and quickly
Dr NaturalBy Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times , December 11, 2007 The pace of human evolution has been increasing at a stunning rate since our ancestors began spreading through Europe, Asia …
Why Meat Grown in Labs is the Next Logical Step for Food Production
Avy RoyLab grown meat is part of the trajectory that agricultural technology is already following.
Interview: Agi Haines, Speculative Artist Who Wants to Redesign the Human Body
Ruben BaartSpeculative designer Agi Haines' work focuses on (re)designing the human body, and speculates upon future scenarios.
The real-life gruesome experiments that inspired Frankenstein
Iwan MorusOn January 17 1803, a young man named George Forster was hanged for murder at Newgate prison in London. After his execution, as often happened, his body was carried ceremoniously …
How memes are evolving beyond the image
Chloë ArkenboutThe times where memes were geeky and funny, somewhat disturbing images have been over for years. Even a simple frog such as Pepe is not innocent anymore. Memes were hijacked by …
"The End": a Virtual Opera Singer, Millions of Fans and the Meaning of Death
Alexandra BremersSixteen-year-old Japanese singer Hatsune Miku grew in short time to a worldwide popstar. With her colourful appearance she counts millions of followers on social media, she …
How technology bridges the generational communication gap
Freya HutchingsEmoji, Skype, Selfies - can these communication technologies close the generation gap? In part, yes! Young people are teaching senior citizens how to use technology, and it’s …
1999 - Ectogenesis Enters The Matrix
Elle Zhan WeiThe movie The Matrix brought ectogenesis to the public eye.
Interview: Patricia Piccinini discusses her latest solo exhibition 'Embracing the Future'
Freya HutchingsPatricia Piccinini is an artist interested in the relationship between humans and non-humans, the natural and the artificial, science and storytelling. Working with silicone, …
Walter Benjamin on Film and the Senses
René RiegerDuring the late 1930’s the philosopher Walter Benjamin wrote its widely influential essay ‘The work of Art in the Age of Its Technical Reproducibility’. While describing a general …
Animals Give Leadership Lesson to Humans
Margherita OlivoWhat are the characteristics of the perfect leader? The answer could be found looking at nature.
Managing the data deluge: Twitter as a tool for ecological research
Marianne MessinaAs early as 2009-10 , researchers were looking at Twitter data mining as a way to predict the incidence of flu. At the time, the H1N1 virus, or “swine flu,” had made the jump from …
Next Generation: VR creator Bas Jansen asks, is there a place for humans?
Freya HutchingsThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Want to see your work here? Get in touch and …
How can Big History help us think about the future?
Noriko Wynn'Big History' is a multidisciplinary study that seeks to put the human story into the context of a 13.8 billion-year story from the Big Bang to now.
Get with the (cultured meat) times by evolving in vitro with Yuval Yancovitch
NextNature.netWith 7.9 billion people and counting, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations predicts that by 2050, food supply needs to grow by 70% in order to accommodate …
Next Generation: Shaping intimacy through objects with Pleun van Dijk
Pleun van Dijk is a speculative artist/designer who investigates the intimate relationship between human and technology.
The Cat Parasite that Sells Motorcycles
Allison GuyThe protozoa Toxoplasma gondii makes an unobtrusive home in nearly every warm-blooded species, but it's prolific life is limited: Toxo can only reproduce in cat stomachs. The …
Better than the real thing
Written by Debbie Mollenhagen PART 1: FROM LINEAR TO CIRCULAR Designer living has become designing life. I often ask myself: did it taste like the real thing? But when I open my …
How animal filters unmask the estranged relation to our wild self
Meike SchipperWould you like a dog snout, cat eyes or fluffy bunny ears? The choice is yours. Virtual selfie filters have become a widespread phenomenon on social media platforms such as …
Using the intelligence of plants to battle climate change
Marit BeerseLiving Carbon enhances natural traits in plants as a solution for stabilizing the climate by increasing the efficiency of the photosynthesis process.
The Non-Human Noosphere
Allison GuyThe definition of the noosphere as "the sphere of human thought on earth" is woefully anthropocentric. It ignores that fact that our fellow sentient organisms have noospheres of …
The religion named Artificial Intelligence
Linda ValentaWould you pray to a Robot deity? A group of Japanese buddhists is already doing so. Meet Mindar , the robot divinity shaped after the buddhist Goddess of Mercy, also known as …
Swiping is the new touching
Nadine RoestenburgFrom all the memes that have reached me through my screen since the outbreak of the corona pandemic, there is one that perfectly reflects my thoughts in the beginning of March …
The Earth As You've Never Seen It Before
Alessia AndreottiBreathtaking satellite images that will change how you see the World.
The making of the Modular Body
Jack CaulfieldRemember the Modular Body? Curious about how OSCAR was really created or keen to know more about the project as a whole? Check out the making of videos!
Notes on the plastisphere
Shahar LivneEvery piece of plastic that’s ever made, still exists. It results in a floating garbage dump in the ocean, full of life. While this (geo)design was never intentional, humans …
A new mythology of technology
Ruben BaartIn conversation with architect Julia Watson, a leading expert on Indigenous technologies and author of 'Lo-TEK, Design by Radical Indigenism'.
Nature Ludens: The Natural World at Play
Rachel ArmstrongAn ingenious Russian crow that used a lid as a snowboard to slide down a snowy roof persuaded millions of YouTube viewers that animals are not merely beasts of burden – they also …
The NBIC Convergence: When Machines and Matter ‘Have Sex’
Rachel ArmstrongThe Singularity , as popularized by Ray Kurtzweil, refers to a near term, theoretical time when machine intelligence greatly surpasses our own. At this point we will experience a …
The Plastic Problem #1: Biobased and Biodegradable Plastic
Alessia AndreottiWhat are then the actions to foster for an effective sustainability? A series of articles will try to point the plastic poblem.
The Biggest Impact on the Planet Comes from Household Consumption
Margherita OlivoNew study suggests that the real environmental problem is embodied in the things we buy.
Next Generation: Searching for Null Island with Deborah Mora
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
The Robots Are Coming!
Koert van MensvoortRobots are getting stronger and smarter every day. They are taking over our whole lives. How long will I have my job before a robot steals it?
Next Generation: Exploring the vegetal cyborg with Marie Declerfayt
NextNature.netThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Want to see your work here? Get in touch and …
Professions Of The Future
Francesca BarchiesiAs technology evolves, what today seems like science fiction may be the job market of tomorrow: 11 professions of the future.
Face the future of intimacy with Kiiroo
Ruben BaartMeet the teledildonics, an ingenious species of bi-directionally controlled sextoys from the future, available today. These touch emulating vibrators find each other on social sex …
Interview: Pirjo Kääriäinen on collaboration and the new ecological biomateriality
Freya HutchingsMeet Pirjo Kääriäinen, professor of design driven fibre innovation at Aalto University, Finland. Kääriäinen founded CHEMARTS —a collaborative program at the university that brings …
If the Implications of Global Warming Were Fair
Koert van MensvoortContrary to popular belief, global warming is not simply a bad thing: there are winners and losers. While low-lying countries, like Bangladesh, are expected to suffer extensively …
Nano Product: The Food Printer
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkAre we creating the penicillin or the asbestos of the 21st century? In the months preceding our Nano Supermarket Project , we share some speculative nanotech products with you. …
Lost in the Forest? The Drones Will Find You
Daniel FragaResearchers are teaching drones to recognize and follow forest trails.
The path towards solar democracy with Marjan van Aubel
Meike SchipperSolar cells are often considered an eyesore, used for their sustainability yet not for their beauty. Installed on roofs or in solar parks, they take up precious space. Well that’s …
The Benefits of Artificial Wetlands
JenniferIn 1994 researchers at Ohio State University created two artificial wetlands* in riverine basins in order to investigate their possible benefits, and whether they could replace …
Watch Out Whales, Humans Want Your Krill
Allison GuyKrill, those tiny members of the ocean's planktonic community, have an importance disproportionate to their size. They are a vital food for whales, penguins and increasingly, …
The Death of the Traffic Light
Daniel FragaMIT researchers have developed a system of traffic control that will make traffic lights obsolete.
In Conversation with Marleen Hartjes: Introducing a digital door to the museum
Kelly van GemertDon’t be surprised when you catch a human face on a screen strolling through the Van Abbe museum for contemporary art in Eindhoven, as these are Europe’s very first robotic …
Browse the Catalog For The Post-Human
Veronica FanzioAugment your physiology. Enhance your prospects. From neuro-electronics, to robotic-prosthetics and mind-altering pharmaceuticals.
Neither Warfare nor Dumplings Are Innate to Human Nature
Allison GuyIn Ngogo, Gombe and elsewhere in Africa, bands of male chimpanzees regularly make organized raids on neighboring troops and batter their enemies to death. These grim, warring …
The Rise and Fall or Rayfish Footwear
Koert van MensvoortFor almost three years, we worked on a sneaker company that we knew would go bankrupt on the day it was founded. This is our coming out...
The Sci-Fi Prehistory of "Victimless" Meat
Allison GuyA (very) short history of a century's worth of "disembodied" meat in fiction.
Embassy of Health: Designing a chronically healthy society
How will we stay healthy in the future? Can we utilize the power of design to move towards a more healthy society?
Exploring the Offline World, if It Still Exists
Bram de VogelThe surprising results of a year offline in the "real" world.
The Invisible Movie
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkIn the Netherlands, there is a raging debate about a movie nobody ever saw. It seems that images have become so powerful, we don't even need them anymore to scare the hell out of …
Growth economy hits the ceiling?
Koert van MensvoortWe have lived for 200 years in a growth economy . That's more than a lifetime, so it is no surprise people tend to think of economy as infinitely growing. Herman Daly , who …
There is not enough Africa in Computers
Koert van MensvoortBrian Eno - artist, composer, inventor, thinker - spoke to Kevin Kelly about the meaning of Africa for music and technology. "Africa is everything that something like classical …
The Right to Privacy
Orestis TsinalisPrivacy is a right. A right given to people by telecommunications companies and social networking websites. It can be described by multiple-choice lists of settings. And it seems …
Customizing the Brain with Psychoactives
Jan Willem van der LindenIt’s long been a desire of the human species to have complete control over our own thoughts. We’ve all had these moments where we curse our brain. Asking questions like: “Why …
Join us at the Embassy of Food Conference
NextNature.netPromising food design projects do not always find their way to producers, the market and ultimately to consumers. Why is that and what can we do to advance these ideas? Why is it …
Next Generation: Pei-Ying Lin is cooking with viruses
Britta de VriesThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Want to see your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
The next generation of Xenobots are here
Simon Coghlan, Kobi LeinsIn 2020, scientists made global headlines by creating “ xenobots ” – tiny “ programmable ” living things made of several thousand frog stem cells. These pioneer xenobots could …
US Judge Rules Gene Patents Invalid ?because they are Natural
Koert van MensvoortDid you know that about 20 percent of your body isn't really yours? It has been patented by some corporation you probably never heard of. You can't patent gold, you can't patent …
Is Life on Earth Suicidal?
Allison GuyAt Next Nature, we often argue that "our image of nature as static, balanced and harmonious is naive and up for reconsideration ." Paleontologist Peter J. Ward happens to agree. …
NNN Movement & the First ECO Coin
Alessia AndreottiWe officially launched the Next Nature Movement in The Netherlands. To seal the beginning of the Next Nature Movement, director Koert van Mensvoort donated the first symbolic ECO coin.
ECO Coin at Welcome to the Village
NextNature.netOn July 21, 22 and 23 you are invited to join us at Welcome to the Village festival in the Friesland province of The Netherlands for our next iteration of the ECO coin!
Disaster Edens: The Anti-Tourist Attraction
Allison GuyImagine your cruise to the Galapagos came with a ghoulish warning: "Your hair will fall out, your skin will blister, you'll probably get cancer and your children's children might …
A More Interesting, More Depressing Theory of Easter Island's Downfall
Allison GuyA new theory claims it wasn't human deforestation that caused the ecological collapse of Easter Island, but something smaller and squeakier.
Next Nature saves Old Nature
Koert van MensvoortConservation workers ask synthetic biologists to help them save the world's endangered creatures and habitats.
The Sound System that Knows your Mood
Martijn BohnenBeoSound Moment is an intelligence sound system that predicts the music the user is in the mood for.
ReGen, the Autarchic Off-Grid Village
Margherita OlivoUtopian off-grid ReGen Village produces all of its own food and energy is being implemented in Almere.
The Animal Sweater
KarlThe pattern on the Animal Sweater suggests a new way to experience commercial imagery. The Animal sweater, designed by Karl Grandin, was first shown at The Biggest Visual Power …
Fresh from the Pharm
Gordon TiemstraWill we in the future still buy several needs according food in shops, or will we grow M&M’s ourselves? There is a lot happening on in the field of food technology , think for …
Herons Eat at the Local Snack Bar
Floor FrintsOriginally herons are migratory birds, in the winter they leave to warmer habitats. In the city there is enough food to survive the winter. Some herons are even too lazy to find their own food and try to collect it from the local snack bar.
Shock Therapy for a Better Self
Julia WeberThe Pavlok wristband gives its wearers an electric shock if they fail at hitting work deadlines or completing fitness goals.
In Vitro Meat Godfather Dies at Age of 91
Koert van MensvoortDutch researcher and entrepreneur, Willem van Eelen, has died in Amsterdam. For more than half a century, Van Eelen relentlessly researched and promoted In Vitro Meat.
Doctors Used VR to Save a Baby's Life
Margherita OlivoGoogle Cardboard was used by a cardiologist to train for a very risky heart surgery on a four months baby.
What will the virus teach us about life?
Koert van MensvoortWe live in turbulent times. Thanks to science and technology, we are able to perceive our environment down to the atomic level. We can read DNA, manipulate cells, cut and paste …
Organs from genetically engineered pigs may help shorten the transplant wait list
David KaczorowskiDemand for life-saving organ transplantation is at an all-time high. In 2021, a record 41,000-plus organ transplants were performed in the U.S., with top numbers for kidney, liver …
Cell Phone Minutes: the Next Currency
Koert van MensvoortIt might just be my old nature mind, but I still find it a daily miracle: being able to walk into the bakery around the corner and trade a piece of paper – called money – for a …
The First Recorded Attack on a Cyborg
Stefan FinckenLooking back on the first recorded attack on a human cyborg.
Poem Passes the Turing Test
Yunus Emre DuyarZackary Scholl developed a program to produce a poem that passed the Turing Test.
The Largest Solar Power Plant in the World
Margherita OlivoA floating photovoltaic system will lie on the waters of a Japanese dam, representing the largest solar establishment in the world.
Man Controls Prosthetic Arm with His Mind
Ingmar NieuweboerResearchers at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine succeeded in hooking up a prosthetic arm to the human brain.
Meat-Eating Made Us Humans
Margherita OlivoEating meat has made us who we are today: evolved, intelligent humans, able to use a verbal language.
The Solution to Nuisance Birds? The Robird
Jack CaulfieldBirds are fascinating creatures, but for farmers, airport staff, and waste management specialists, they can prove to be a profound nuisance. How to deal with a flock of birds …
Invisibility Cloak Hides Objects Visible To The Naked Eye
Koert van MensvoortSome years ago scientists managed to build a rudimentary invisibility cloak, which was an impressive device but it had some important limitations, not least of which was that it …
Will a Cockroach Save Your Life?
Steef PeppingOften cockroaches aren’t people's best friends, but maybe in a few years you will be relieved when you see a cockroach. Researchers of the North Carolina State University …
What You Feel Is What You Get - Smartphone for the Blind
Shikha SacharA revolutionary new smartphone for the blind uses a completely tactile interface.
Soil-Free Farming in the Desert
Yunus Emre DuyarA special absorbant film that require no soil may be able to grow plants more efficiently than soil farming.
Making Power Stations Part of the Landscape
Margherita OlivoCan we have pretty power stations? The design of power stations is becoming more appealing.
People are less likely to turn a robot off if it asks them not to
Tristan GreeneA team of German researchers published a study earlier this week indicating people can be duped into leaving a robot turned on just because it “asks” them to. The …
Next Generation: The virtual infinity of Scarlett Yang
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
How ‘cyborg soil’ reveals the secret microbial metropolis beneath our feet
Edith HammerDig a teaspoon into your nearest clump of soil, and what you’ll emerge with will contain more microorganisms than there are people on Earth. We know this from lab studies that …
Next Generation: Changing the oceans chemistry with Santa Ramaherison
NextNature.netThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
The Material Futures of Central Saint Martins
Zeynep KunduracilarMeet United Matters, a London collective exploring how we might live in the future by blurring the boundaries between craft, science and technology.
Plastic Planet
Koert van MensvoortWe tend to think of plastic as a cheap, inferior and ugly material used to make children’s toys, garden furniture and throwaway bottles. But as an experiment, imagine for a moment …
Interview: Chloé Rutzerveld, Designer Who Wants to Grow Healthy 3D Printed Food
Alessia AndreottiFood and Concept designer, Chloé Rutzerveld, explains her 3D food printing project Edible Growth.
The First 3D Printed Canal House
Francesca BarchiesiThe first 3D printed house is a recognisable and attractive Dutch Canal House, an exhibition and building site in the heart of Amsterdam.
The Secret Service is Preparing for Drones
Yunus Emre DuyarThe U.S. Secret Service is conducting test drone flights over Washington, D.C.
A Map of Mars for Regular Humans
Margherita OlivoIf we'll ever get to go to Mars as tourists , we wouldn't get lost. Ordnance Survey , the official British mapping agency, recently released a new detailed map of the Red Planet. …
Gene Therapy Cures Chronic Disease
Elle Zhan WeiGene therapy can cure up to 200 different diseases and the list is growing.
How rich people used to show off their wealth with pineapples and celery
Lauren Alex O HaganA stack of pancakes ladened with syrup, a frothy latte posed next to a white MacBook, a deep pan pizza oozing with cheese. Instagram has made “food porn” – images that portray …
NASA's Human Computers helped land the first human on the moon
Kelly van GemertNowadays mechanical intelligence is often chosen over that of our own human capabilities. But there was a time where our computers were still not always a match against our own …
Next Nature Services
Bas HaringIntentionality separates culture from nature. A dog is intentional, a fox is not; a park is intentional, a forest is not. Since trash, ruined buildings, and automated computer …
The Earth on Loan
Allison GuyChristian Schwägerl is a correspondent for Der Spiegel and the author of Menschenzeit (The Age of Man). He will be presenting his views on the Anthropocene at the Next Nature …
Automotive Monsoon – Reign or Rain of the Cars?
Jules FrintsTry it once. Go stand near a highway, close your eyes and listen carefully. Hear the sound of tires on the asphalt, hear the rhythmic ‘sshhh’, focus on this particular sound. And …
Did Forks Really Give Modern Humans an Overbite?
Allison GuyThe food writer Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork , has put forth a surprising theory about forks and teeth that has received widespread online coverage. According to …
How Food Scientists Engineer the "Bliss Point" in Junk Food
Allison GuyCheetos and other junk foods are more carefully engineered than the average bridge.
NASA Solves the Toxic 'New Car Smell'
Jonathon MarkowskiA new material can stop toxic off-gassing from plastics, but the 'new car smell' is so valuable the car industry might not change.
Designer Dave Hakkens is putting plastic waste to better use
Ruben BaartWe recently handed this year’s ECO Coin Award to Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, founder of the Precious Plastic movement. With his open sourced recycling machines, he provides people around the world the knowledge to start recycling plastic locally.
Fellow Day: Next Senses
Ingmar NieuweboerOn June 17th a NNN Fellow Day was organized to explore the future project: Next Senses.
Slowing down to start up: Here's the first chapter of our crypto deep dive series
Koen WeselIt takes years to design a new banknote, having hundreds of people working on every little detail, all done under the watchful eye of governments and professionals. However today, …
Q: How will a technology enter the human habitat?
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThis question is an excerpt from the Pyramid of Technology toolkit In the late nineties, the Tamagotchi egg was released. A small egg-shaped device that contained a digital …
Join us at the DDW Talks: Next Biodiversity
NextNature.netThe influence of humans on the earth can hardly be underestimated. Think of climate change, deforestation, and the decline of biodiversity. We are heading for a sixth mass …
Mapping the world's DNA
Marit BeerseThe Earth BioGenome Project is aiming to create a database of genomes of all organic life on earth within 10 years.
The Internet Mapping Project
Arnoud van den HeuvelKevin Kelly -- senior maverick at Wired -- asks people how they see the internet and if they can, visualize it. Here is how: "The internet is vast. Bigger than a city, bigger than …
Clouding the brain
Ties van de WerffMan is a flexible species. We tend to adapt quite rapidly to new environments. But how fast can these adaptations turn to new evolutionary traits? For instance: to what extent is …
Rio 2016: the Olympic (Green) Abyss
Ruben BaartLast week the Olympic women’s diving pool at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre mysteriously turned swampy green overnight.
Intimate Technology S01E01: All My Clothes
NextNature.netThis movie titled "All My Clothes" reminds us of a more straightforward example of intimate technology: the clothes we wear every day.
There's a new urgency for speculative design. Here's why
Freya HutchingsPink chickens, synthesized tiger penises and salads grown from bodily fluids - how could they shape our future? In a Next Nature collaboration with the Gogbot Festival, the …
Want to build an organization that lasts? Create a superorganism
Tamsin Woolley-BarkerFor the past 25 years, I’ve studied everything from baboon cooperation in Ethiopia and orca whale innovation in the Bering Sea, to the Argentine ant invasion in my kitchen, and my …
Check your Technoprivilege
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkTechnology is not neutral; the same tech might empower some and disempower others. It is time to check our Technoprivilege, argues author Hendrik-Jan Grievink.
Next Nature reading list
NextNature.netTen books that continue to inspire the next nature philosophy—gathered for you to read this summer.
Controlling the Uncontrollable
Arnoud van den HeuvelIt is a home to crawlers, virusses, search engines, gamers, spammers, chatters, twitters, bloggers, worms and spiders. If calling it alive goes too far, it's still safe to say …
Repairing the Scars of War
Arnoud van den HeuvelLenka Clayton : A series of five digitally repaired images taken in Lebanon of buildings damaged by the 2006 conflict with Israel. The images were taken specifically for this …
Here Comes the iPhone Virus
Koert van MensvoortBy analyzing billions of phone calls, researchers at Scandinavian telecom company Telenor , mapped how social connections between people – measured partly by how often they called …
To Milk the Cows, Click here
Koert van MensvoortIn millions of offices and homes around the world, people are hard at work planting crops, feeding cattle and tilling their land. Welcome to Farmville , the digital rural world …
Activist Release Transgenic Stingrays in the Ocean
NextNature.netThis morning we received an astounding video from a group of animal right activist that broke in at Rayfish Footwear, the Thai based fashion brand that creates $1500 personalized sneakers from genetically engineered stingray leather.
Monkeys Fall into the 'Uncanny Valley' Too
Koert van MensvoortThe uncanny valley, a phrase coined by Japanese robotic researcher Masahiro Mori nearly three decades ago, describes the uncanny feeling that occurs when people look at …
The World's First Virtual Reality Park
Alessia AndreottiA virtual reality theme park where visitors can explore the virtual world in a physical environment.
Designer babies: the kids of the future?
Megan Ray NicholsWhat if you had the choice of sparing your child from diseases and disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease or autism?
How in vitro meat became a subject of debate in the Dutch parliament
Ruben BaartTo all in vitro meat optimists, hear hear! In May 2018 we launched the petition ' In vitro meat is here. Let us taste it. ' We proudly announce that this petition led to …
POND: A symphony of lights and water
Nellie FriedrichHave you ever gone a day without water? Most likely you have experienced low energy levels or fatigue after a few couple of hours. Water gives us energy. More than that, water is …
Can we grow wood in a lab the same way we grow meat?
MaithriIn old nature, wood is grown in the forest. In the next nature, wood might be grown in a lab. Akin to the process of growing in-vitro meat , researchers in Velásquez-García’s …
Beijing's dust storm: part humans, part nature
NextNature.netThe skies in Beijing turned orange recently, thanks to what was widely reported as a massive sandstorm . The problem, at least in terms of public health, is that it was not …
Switch Critters - Can you make them switch?
Koert van MensvoortEarlier we discussed the Magical Interaction project, in which Joris van Gelder rethought the boring activity of switching on/off a light by transforming it into a magical …
The Top 10 New Organisms of 2007
Dr NaturalGenetic engineering isn't just for scientists in ivory towers or corporate R&D labs anymore. Researchers are still creating new mice and crops every week, but the tools and …
Feeding the World with Insects
Abby QinShould we make a next step in what we serve at the table? What about insects? Would you give them a try?
Seeing the Sun Through Data
Adriene LillyThe Smithsonian’s National Air and Space museum has taken the sun observation to the next level with a giant public display of images and data that show the sun in hyper-real detail.
How Knitwear Can Save Penguins
Mathilde NakkenThe penguin jumper is designed by the Penguin Foundation, an organization that rescues penguins on the Australian coast who are hit by oils spills.
Paradise by the Laptop Light
Paradise by the Laptop Light is a next nature event with short films, speedlectures, special guests and one laptop. It will be held on 12 September 2008 16:30-17:30, as the …
Deliver us from Skeuomorph Prosthetics
Koert van MensvoortNo, this is not another example in our fake for real series , comparing an artificial with a human hand. Rather, you are looking at twice the same hand: with and without its …
A Savannah Inside the Dumpster
Allison GuyFor most of us, obtaining food is easy. We go to the grocery store, where fruits are labeled and meats arranged by species. We go to a restaurant, sit, and wait for our food to …
Darwinian Selection of the Cowboy Hat
Allison GuyThe standard story of the cowboy hat goes something like this: In 1865, J.B. Stetson went out west during the California gold rush. He observed that bowlers, raccoon hats, and …
Share the Smell of Your Delicious Dish
Julia WeberThe oPhone and oSnap allow you to send pictures with aromatic vocabularies.
Drinking Water From the Air
Yunus Emre DuyarWarka Water is an alternative water source to rural population that faces challenges in accessing drinkable water.
Meet the Hospital of the Future
Margherita OlivoWith its 656 beds, this hospital offers unconventional and leading computerized assistance for all sorts of patients.
The Hotel Run by Robots
Alessia AndreottiA futuristic Japanese hotel will be run by robots, designed to be extremely human-like.
The Phone That's Just a Phone
Alessia AndreottiMeet the anti-smartphone. It literally does nothing but make and answer calls.
The Supermarket with No Employees
Alessia AndreottiThis automated store in Sweden doesn’t have any human employees, only a smartphone app.
Refreezing the Arctic
Ruben BaartA team of scientists developed a peculiar strategy to counter the Arctic ice melting.
Elzelinde van Doleweerd wins the ECO Coin Award 2018
The ECO Coin Award honours outstanding ecological heroes. In 2015, we handed out our first ECO Coin award to Yoyo Yogasamana for his digitalization of sustainable knowledge to …
Why in the future, we will all wear one piece of garment
Ruben BaartIt's not an easy task to define the practice of designer Jasna Rok . Fashtech pioneer? Radical innovator? Visionary designer? ‘All of the above’ seems only appropriate. In fact, …
Towards collective standpoints on the future of baby making
Freya HutchingsFor the closing event of Reprodutopia , a true meeting of minds took place as we discussed the social implications surrounding the future of reproductive technologies. Multiple …
Once you enter, you are the Car
Koert van MensvoortMartin Heidegger and Marshall Mcluhan already described people's tendency to extend their identities in the animate objects when interacting with them. When for instance, driving …
Jewels from the Ocean
Koert van MensvoortDesigner and former fashion model Barbara de Vries was cleaning plastic litter off her favorite beach in the Bahamas, when she noticed the plastic fragments were all uniquely …
Post Natural Organisms of the EU
Koert van MensvoortIf you happen to be in the neighborhood you might want to drop by at the exhibition Post Natural Organisms of the European Union in Amsterdam. The small but delicate expo, curated …
The Artificial Touch-Sensitive Hand
Alessia AndreottiRestoring the sense of touch with an artificial hand, using a brain interface.
Browsing the Map of Space Ship Earth
Koert van MensvoortBesides finding their way, people look at to transport them to another place, or in this case, another perspective on planet Earth.
How a Self-Driving Car Sees the World
Lotte BiesheuvelThe Google self-driving car has driven 700.000 miles by itself, and now it can drive through busy city streets.
The Smartest Artificial Skin
Alessia AndreottiStretchy artificial skin lets prosthetic hand sense heat, humidity, and pressure.
Musical Journey Through the Human Body
Alessia AndreottiDe Motu is an interactive music app that let you experience your body through music and influence the sound with your own body.
Solar-Powered Plane Starts its Five-Month-Long Flight Around the World
Yunus Emre DuyarSolar Impulse 2 is a Swiss project with the aim to enable long term flights using solar power.
Discover the art of the living at Centre Pompidou
NextNature.netGo forward to nature at the La Fabrique du Vivant (the Factory of Life), the newly opened exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Exhibiting the recent works of fifty …
Discussing non-human centered design with Kelvin Godee and Simon Wijrdeman
What if design began to put everything but the human first? The needs of the human not paramount to the design process, but instead the other entities that we cohabit planet earth …
Lab or Nature? Scientists are debating the origins of COVID-19
NextNature.netWe need to talk about COVID-19. Again (or, still). One of the main questions about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has for a while been about its origins. Most viruses …
Who designed the banana?
Koert van MensvoortLooking at a banana from a design perspective, one immediately notices the fruit is highly ergonomic and sophisticated: Bananas fit perfectly in the human hand, they come with a …
Urban Mining – Gold digging in the Sewers
Koert van MensvoortResource-poor Japan discovered a new source of mineral wealth: sewage sludge. In its first month of operation, a sewage plant in Japan’s Nagano prefecture has mined 5 million yen …
Trading Humans for Trading Algorithms
Stefan FinckenThe economic system and profit motive has been a driving force that steers and even dictates social change. Investors and stockbrokers have been a major influence to these social …
Raise Crops on the Moon with Plant-Growing Jelly
NextNature.netIn dry areas like the desert, on mountain tops or on the moon it’s impossible to grow anything. Or is it? A rain in the desert sparks extreme plant growth from the moment the …
More than Fake Nature: The Surprising Sociology of Museum Taxidermy
Allison GuyThe greatest taxidermy in the world reveals a great deal about our changing notions of nature.
After In Vitro Burger, Chicken is the Next
Yunus Emre DuyarSoon, we might be getting a taste of the first lab-grown chicken meat.
Sexy Cyborg Sports Her Prosthetic Limb
Koert van MensvoortThe Brazilian model Paola Antonini uses her Instagram to show off her prosthetic limb.
Real Nature is not Green
Koert van MensvoortAt the edge of the woods along the motorway near the Dutch town of Bloemendaal, there stands a mobile telephone mast disguised as a pine tree. This mast is not nature: at best, it …
Paradise by the Laptop Light
Paradise by the Laptop Light is a visual power event with short films, speedlectures, special guests and one laptop. It will be held on 23 November 2007 16:30, as part of STRP Art …
Join the Neolithic Revolution
Koert van MensvoortWhy hunt? Why gather? Join the Neolithic revolution! Somewhere around 9500 BC proto-farmers began to select and cultivate food plants with desired characteristics. While in their …
Comeback of the 'Ugly' Fruits
Koert van MensvoortPerhaps in the long run, historians will consider this as the official end of modernity as we knew it: The comeback of the wonky cucumber, abnormally bent banana, and comedy …
Downriver in the Lowlands
Teun CasteleinThe Netherlands is known for its outright flat landscape – its even part of the name. How come the Dutch Womans Youth Rafting Team just won the World Cup in the category …
The Buttons
Koert van MensvoortNowadays buttons are completely mundane and natural objects in our environment. You find them on phones, alarm clocks, keyboards, elevators, dishwashers and of course on the …
Take your transgenic kids to the CPNH
Allison GuyThe Center for PostNatural History doesn't house the dinosaurs or dioramas of your run-of-the-mill natural history museum. Instead, it's the first museum dedicated exclusively to …
The Banana Gets a Second Skin
Allison GuyWe already know that bananas are evidence of intelligent design – by farmers, not by god. All commercial crops have been tweaked by the hand of agriculture, but modern bananas …
Hidden Cities Emerge from the Amazon
Allison GuyFamed for its jaguars, orchids, and horrifying parasites, the Amazon is just as famous for what it lacks: human presence. For many years, the prevailing wisdom has been that …
Moments in Meat History Part VI - Meat the Future
Jonathon MarkowskiBy the turn of the century, some people began raising questions about our meat consumption habits.
Minimalist Effect in the Maximalist Market
Abby QinThe multidisciplinary design consultancy Antrepo Team created a project named Minimalist Effect in the Maximalist Market in 2010.
3D-Printed Shell to Save Tortoise's Life
Margherita OlivoA severely injured tortoise was saved by a team of doctors thanks to a 3D printed shell.
Artificial Northern Lights
Monika KozubSwiss artist Dan Acher created a replica of the Northern Lights by way of high-powered lasers.
Carpooling into the Future
Elle Zhan WeiAmerican company Ideo has taken the essence of on-demand economy at heart, presenting a vehicle with detail-designed services for the future of carpooling.
How modern technology is inspired by the natural world
John A. NychkaWhat do a kingfisher, cocklebur pods and a Namibian beetle have in common? Besides being living organisms, they have all served as inspiration for creative human technologies to …
Electric cars might not yet be green, but we should buy them anyway
Ranald BoydellTransforming the way we travel is an essential part of tackling the climate crisis. The transport sector contributes about 20% of global carbon emissions . In the UK the figure is …
Orthorexia Nervosa: the "healthy" eating disorder
Koert van MensvoortFollowing anorexia nervosa (under eating) and bulimia nervosa (overeating and compensating), orthorexia nervosa (obsessively healthy eating) is the latest eating disorder in the …
Injured Cat gets Bambi-style prosthetics
Koert van MensvoortA cat that had its back feet severed by a combine harvester has been given two prosthetic limbs in a pioneering operation by a UK vet. The custom-made implants that "peg" the …
The Virtual Lives of Extinct Animals
Allison GuyWhat happens when next nature dreams of old nature? Such is the case with extinct animals that have ever come in contact with humans, particularly the dinosaurs, our own …
Angel with Cellphone adorns Cathedral
Koert van MensvoortTo mark the twelve-year restoration of the Sint Jan cathedral in Den Bosch, a new statue of an angel carrying a mobile phone was added to the building. The angel joins the many …
The Soul is a Plastic Bag
Allison GuyIn the film Plastic Bag , the title character spends a lifetime (or more) on a quest for a creator not even aware of his existence. A stunning short by Ramin Bahrani, director of …
Gathering Electricity from the Atmosphere
Stephen Perry"Atmospheric energy" has the power to revolutionize the production of electricity.
Google Birdhouse Shows Birds Their Way
Alessia AndreottiPutting the birds into the bird's eye view of Google Maps.
The World Responds to Bitcoin
Rick Dutour GeerlingFrom small stores to the US government, what the world thinks of bitcoin.
Twitter Gets Real in the Form of a Hotel
Alessia AndreottiA hotel where all communication is conducted by Twitter hashtag.
Technosphere Monitors the Biosphere
Koert van MensvoortThe rise and fall of the Earths forests can now be tracked 'real time' through a new mapping tool called Global Forest Watch.
Bionic Ants That Work Together
Louise HuyghebaertThese robotic ants by Festo are learning to work together, like real ants do.
The Sketchbook Made Of Artificial Skin
Alessia AndreottiThe SkinBook is made of synthetic skin that allows beginner tattooists to practice their skills.
Release - messages from the deceased
Koert van Mensvoort'Release' is a product that terminal patients can use to leave audio messages for their relatives, for after their death. People living with the notion that they will soon die …
The Tissue Engineered Meat of Tomorrow
Koert van MensvoortThe meat in the supermarket is abstract, square and habitually made from wickedly manufactured animals. A friend once told me he only eats meat if he "can not recognize the animal …
Unfolding the Earth - Myriahedral projections
Koert van MensvoortHow can we unfold the Earth? Making a map of the earth is an ancient problem. For thousands of years cartographers, mathematicians, and inventors have developed methods to …
Cultivating the Money-verse
Orestis TsinalisAlright, we were mistaken. Money isn't virtual after all. A recent TV commercial of a Greek bank shed light on the issue. Your money lives, is anthropomorphic and inhabits an …
Poaching from the New Savannah
Allison GuyThe Ipswich Museum, the Tring Museum, and around 30 other European cultural institutions and antiques dealers have experienced a rash of theft over the last few months. What turns …
Video Game-Playing Robot Acts More "Human" than Humans
Allison GuyComputer-controlled players in video games can usually be spotted for their repetitive, illogical or unemotional behavior. Unlike humans, non-player characters (NPCs) don't get …
Food Simulator to Fulfill the Desire to Eat
Alessia AndreottiTwo master's students have created a speculative device to simulate the sensations of eating.
Implanted into Bacteria, Synthetic DNA Functions as a Diagnostic Computer
Jiwon KimIn the movie Fantastic Voyage, a submarine and its crew were shrunk and injected into the body of a sick man in an attempt to save his life. Despite the fictional nature of this …
"News Machine" Illustrates the Effects of Media Distortion
Alessia AndreottiThe News Machine is a contraption that explains the news distortion that happens when a message is broadcast through different media. The starting point is a tweet sent from a …
The (Almost) Invisible Dancing Wheelchair
Jonathon MarkowskiDesigned by a dancer, a new wheelchair moves intuitively with the user's movements.
BAT Flies High in the Sky to Make Energy
Francesca BarchiesiBuoyant Airborne Turbine is a giant high altitude wind turbine that brings low cost energy to remote areas and off-grid sites.
Exploring the City Soundscape
Alessia AndreottiBuq are electronic life forms that shift the experience of the street scape from the primarily visual to a more auditory experience.
Drone Maps Christ the Redeemer
Yunus Emre DuyarThe current technology has not been able to replicate Christ the Redeemer perfectly, until now.
The Tree of (After) Life
Ruben BaartThe Bios Incube is a smartphone-connected biodegradable urn that turns cremated remains into a tree.
Here's all you need to know about the future of the ECO Coin (and how it came about)
NextNature.netToday is Earth Day! This means that we think about the relationship between man, nature and technology, as technology is becoming a nature of its own. Acknowledged in 192 …
The Internet's presidential attention
Koert van MensvoortNow that we've recognized the internet as a living entity , we can begin to wonder what the internet is thinking of. Would it be possible to communicate? Ask questions? Read its …
Crash course on synthetic genomics
Koert van MensvoortNext Monday when your colleagues ask you what you have been doing for the weekend, you might answer you something default like you went out with friends, danced, biked to the …
The Stray Shopping Cart Project
Koert van Mensvoort"Until now, the major obstacle that has prevented people from thinking critically about stray shopping carts has been that we have not had any formalized language to differentiate …
Mushrooms in the Mokum
Allison GuyMediamatic is hosting a pop-up urban mushroom farm in the middle of Amsterdam. Rows and rows of shiitake, oyster, and the elusive almond-flavored Agaricus subrufescens are …
The Real Coming to America
Jeffrey BraunChristopher Quinn and Tommy Walker's documentary ' God Grew Tired of Us ' tells the odyssey of four boys from Sudan who embark on a journey to America after years of wandering …
Meat, the Expectations
Koert van MensvoortAs the planet’s population speeds towards 9 billion, it’s becomes impossible to continue consuming meat like we do today. Will we all be eating rice and beans? Grasshoppers …
How People spend their Day
Koert van MensvoortThe layers in this visualization represent an average of how thousands of Americans spent their day
Ghost Imaging: Taking Pictures of the Invisible Thanks to a New 3D Technique
Alessia AndreottiBritish research group created anew scanning technique permits to obtain 3D images and detect wavelengths that our visual system is not able to see.
Moments in Meat History Part II- The Last Mammoths
Jonathon MarkowskiThe Mammoth was the last of the giant land mammals of the Pleistocene era.
Sniffer - Meet the Google Nose
Koert van MensvoortThe Sniffer – aka Google Nose – visualizes odors using a smell sensor, which is as good as a dog’s nose, and a glass in front of your eyes.
The Hedonometer Uses Social Media to Measure Global Happiness
Orfeas LyrasScientists are using Twitter, blogs, and news sites to categorize the global psyche.
Designing Cars with Synthetic Biology
Louise HuyghebaertDesigner and artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg explains how synthetic biology inspires her for designing the cars of the future.
Teasing the Internet of Things
Yunus Emre DuyarWhen there is such abundance of areas where IoT could be applied, several ridiculous, unnecessary products are inevitable.
When Was the Last Time you Were Bored?
Alessia AndreottiThe Bored and Brilliant project asks people to measure their smartphone use take some conscious steps to limit the digital interactions.
The Autonomous Tractor Is Here
Ruben BaartCase IH debuted their autonomous farm tractor that plants, monitors crops and harvests, all without a driver.
Robotic Pillow Breathes to Help You Sleep
Charlotte KuijpersA smart, huggable bed partner, who also improves your sleep quality. Sounds great, right? Soon, you might be able to order one yourself: Somnox is a soft robotic pillow that gently breathes as you hold it.
Interview: Designer Shahar Livne is geomimicing the future of plastics
Kelly van GemertWe sat down with Shahar Livne, an Israeli-born designer who graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven to talk about her vision on the future of plastics.
Fake for Real: Can You Taste the Difference?
Koert van MensvoortYou can't beat the real thing, but then again, some generations seem to prefer the other choice. Competition between cola brands goes back a long time. Over the years, the two …
Escape of the Prairiedogs
Arnoud van den Heuvel" It took just 10 minutes for a dozen prairie dogs to outwit the creators of the Maryland Zoo's new $500,000 habitat. Aircraft wire, poured concrete and slick plastic walls proved …
Afterlife for Atheists
Lisa van der VoortWhere religions promise their believers a life after death and cryonics also needs a kind of belief in future technological development, designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau …
Theriomorphous Cyborg
Allison GuyThe Animal Architecture Awards have just announced the winners of their 2011 contest. Taking first place is Simone Ferracina's Theriomorphous Cyborg , a (speculative) augmented …
Next What?
John ZerzanIn this essay, anti-civilization, anarchist philosopher John Zerzan critiques the concept of 'next nature.' He argues that rather than freeing us, our self-domestication through …
Forward to the Dark Ages: Our Horrifying Post-Antibiotic Future
Allison GuyThe world is returning to the era when a scraped knee or ear infection could lead to sudden, swift death.
Anthropocene: the Shrinking of Aral Sea
Alessia AndreottiAs a consequence of a big water diversion project to irrigate surrounding areas the Aral Sea is drying up.
Painting the Anthropocene
Alessia AndreottiGovedare paints the human impact on natural environments, showing how nature has become a subset of culture.
Holland Before the Dikes
Koert van MensvoortA speculative rendering of a climate change catastrophe? Is this our future? Or our past, long before people starting building dykes in the low lands?
Hoverboarding Over the Atlantic
Elle Zhan WeiIn 2017, a hoverboard can fly 164 feet above earth and able to hover over the Atlantic Ocean.
In conversation with Teresa van Dongen, biodesigner exploring natural forms of artificial light
Kelly van GemertThere was a time when flipping the switch, and seeing a glass bulb light up, was magical to anyone in the world. Today, the presence of a light switch in a room, is something …
How a giant robot learns its true nature in 'The Iron Giant'
NextNature.netAt first glance, the premise of the film 'The Iron Giant' (1999) seems to be a total failure. An animation film set in the United States in 1957; while the Russian satellite …
Featherless Chicken
Koert van MensvoortBehold the featherless chicken, created by Scientists at the genetics faculty at the Rehovot Agronomy Institute near Tel Aviv, Israel. The idea behind the development of this …
The Love Boat
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis is Petra. In 2006 she fell in love with a peddle boat designed to look like a swan and has never left its side. In winter, when swans should be flying southwards, the peddle …
The Presidential Harvest
Arnoud van den Heuvel" Eat the View " is a campaign to plant healthy, edible landscapes in high-impact, high visibility places, whether it's the "First Lawn" or the lawn in front of your child's …
Mapping the DNA World
Koert van MensvoortDNA related tools, once expensive and restricted to research and crime labs, are rapidly becoming affordable. Like GPS – once a high-tech wonder now turned into a everyday gadget …
Clothes from a Can
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkFrequent readers of this website might be familiar with our claim that Next Nature emerges from a fusion between the Born and the Made. But now we can add another: the fusion of …
Miniature Sensor Network for the Office
Koert van Mensvoort"Have you seen my stapler? No, but just look it up on Google home office maps ." CSIRO Researchers have developed miniature sensors that track lab equipment, coffee mugs and …
Trips to the Moon
Billy SchonenbergWhen watching a science fiction flick, it can be hard to determine what time in the future it is set, although this is a usually an integral part of the movie. However, it is …
Creating the World's Cutest Fruit
Allison GuyJust like corn, bananas , and essentially any other plant we cultivate, the Cutie mandarin is the result of a concerted effort to produce an ideal food. Mandarin oranges come from …
"That Was Then. This is Now"
Alexandra Daisy GinsbergThe wunderkammer – the traditional repository of natural history curiosities and cultural relics – has been updated by the Center for PostNatural History in Pittsburgh, which …
The Fist Bump Manifesto
Alessia AndreottiFrom the handshake to the sanitary, gender-neutral fist bump.
The Holy Grail of Immortality
Casper JacobsInjecting mice with telomerase enables them to live 24% longer than the average mouse.
We Feel Empathy for Robots (Even if They Don't Look Human)
Stefan FinckenHuman test subjects felt empathy for dinosaur robots being cuddled or abused.
Marketing the Oceans
Adriene LillyEco-friendly fashion is in vogue, evidenced by terms like “recycled-material” and “sustainable manufacturing” battered around as selling points for everything from sheets to …
Meet the Band Aid of the Future
Margherita OlivoThis potentially revolutionary device includes LED lights and temperature sensors to provide medication directly to the wounded section of the skin.
The World’s Largest Indoor Farm
Alessia AndreottiThe world’s largest indoor farm in Japan is 100 times more productive than traditional agriculture.
Visualizing the World Economy
Koert van MensvoortThis Is What $15.3 Trillion of World Trade Looks Like.
Bionic Prosthetic Arm with Personal Drone
Ingmar NieuweboerWhy would you stick to an elbow, a wrist and five fingers if you could make anything? This guy got a game-inspired bionic arm.
The Posthuman Farm
Ruben BaartWu Tzu-ning presents a posthuman reality from genetic engineering to digital afterlife.
Meet the Worms, Viruses and Trojans
Koert van MensvoortNow there is an interesting biomimicmarketing technique we had not seen before. For their new marketing campaign internet security company Messagelabs worked with digital artist …
Food Design in the 21th Century
Koert van MensvoortOld nature provided us with a wide variety of food: fresh milk, crispy vegetables, nutritious meat. Yet this is not enough, we want more: We want a printed steak , square …
The World's first Refrigerated Beach
Koert van MensvoortConspicuous consumption in the overdrive: The world's first refrigerated beach is to be built at a luxury hotel in the Dubai (aka the new Las Vegas) so the tourists don't burn …
Next Nature Movie #2: Being There
Koert van MensvoortThe main character in ‘Being There’ (1979) is a simple-minded gardener named Chance, played brilliantly by Peter Sellars, who has spent all his life as a servant in the Washington …
Next Nature Movie #9 – The Terminal
Koert van MensvoortViktor Navorski is an Eastern European traveler – portrayed by Tom Hanks, who in the movie ‘Cast Away’ already played a man stranded on an uninhabited island – that finds himself …
Dutch protest against Bad Weather
Koert van MensvoortSome countries just don't seem to have real problems. This weekend a protest was organized in Amsterdam against the bad weather . In the first three weeks of July the Dutch …
Meanwhile in the Next Nature Lab
NextNature.netLast week, the young and talented designers of the Next Nature lab at the Eindhoven University of Technology presented their end of semester works in an internal exhibition. There …
Software Fakes an Active Social Life While You're on the Sofa
Allison GuyCouchCachet promises to give you the fully-booked, in-the-know life while you are on the Sofa.
The Bionic Kangaroo
Alessia AndreottiThe BionicKangaroo technologically reproducesthe unique way a kangaroo moves.
New 3D Printer Can Save Hours of Time
Yunus Emre DuyarA team of researchers recently developed a new method for 3D printing that can reduce the printing process down to minutes.
The Bamboo Skyscraper
Alessia AndreottiA group of architects looked at natural forests to design the bamboo skyscraper.
The Office of the Future on Four Wheels
Alejandro AlvarezNissan created the e-NV200 workspace: an electrical van with zero emissions that is packed with everything you need to work efficiently.
'Thinking Soil' Will Change the Way We Build
Monika KozubSelf-constructing foundation thanks to genetically modified microbes.
Welcome to the Novacene
NextNature.netJames Lovelock (1919) has lived on Earth for over a century. You may find that long, but it is short for himself. He thinks big and from a long-term awareness. At the age of …
Why Borghildur Indriðadóttir wishes to perform on the Moon
What is the meaning of art on the moon? Artist on the Moon is the latest project from Icelandic visual artist Borghildur Indriðadóttir , who aims to perform for the stars and …
A plate that regulates the speed of eating
Koert van MensvoortMany people tend to eat too fast. As a result they do not receive signals from the stomach that they are in fact full. The result can be overeating and obesity . To encounter …
Norwegian boy saves sister from moose attack using world of warcraft skills
Koert van MensvoortHans Jørgen Olsen, a 12-year-old Norwegian boy, saved himself and his sister from a moose attack using skills he picked up playing the online role playing game World of Warcraft.. …
Self–Repairing Architecture
Rachel ArmstrongAll buildings today have something in common: They are made using Victorian technologies. This involves blueprints, industrial manufacturing and construction using teams of …
The Soft Touch of a Human Hand
Martin TetterooNissan’s Engineers Are Creepily Trying To Replicate Human Skin
Making Fake Eggs to Beat the Real Thing
Allison GuyTech experts are betting that they can make vegetarian eggs that outperform the real thing.
The "Silk Pavilion" Combines Digital and Biological Architecture
Alessia AndreottiThe worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the warms build pavilions made of polygonal silk panels.
Glow in the Dark Trees
Lotte BiesheuvelDaan Roosegaarde is exploring possibilities to replace streetlights with luminous trees.
Making the Skin your New Touchscreen
Alessia AndreottiA tool that could turn the arm into a touch screen display.
Street Lights Permanently Change the Ecology of Local Bugs
Allison GuyStreetlights affect local ecologies for a longer duration, and at a higher level in the food web, than previously thought.
Meet the Modern Miners
Koert van MensvoortA visit to a massive, secretive Bitcoin mine that is said to make 800.000 Euro per month.
The Interactive Supermarket
Ruben BaartCoop Italia has opened a flagship store in Milan to present their vision of what grocery shopping might hold for us in 2050.
Beyond Biomimicry: A New Urgency
William MyersDesigners face an unprecedented urgency to alter their methods and reprioritize their goals to address the accelerating degradation of the environment. This new …
Bio textiles: Meet six designers changing the future of fashion
Meike SchipperWe live in a world of fast or disposable fashion. This industry is increasingly impacting the environment due to the use of toxic chemicals, water and energy consumption, heavy …
Q: Is the technology outside or inside your body?
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThis question is an excerpt from the Pyramid of Technology toolkit The first computers barely fit in your living room. This all changed with the introduction of the desktop …
Who should win the ECO Coin Award 2019?
NextNature.netEach year we celebrate ecological heroes as part of our ECO Coin Award and this year is no different. Have you seen an inspiring person who is making the world a more …
Fake for Real: Reflections in the Cave
The Lascaux cave conserves some of the first images created by man, dating back to around 15,000 BC. The depiction of large animals on the cave walls is considered as a …
Fake for Real: The Photoshop Reporters
Koert van MensvoortWhen the former football star and actor OJ Simpson was arrested for the murder of his ex-wife and her friend, both Newsweek and Time Magazine used the police mug shot on their …
The Professors Doppelgänger Robot
Dr NaturalAlthough there are numerous researchers out there creating humanoid robots, none are as explicit about the close relation between anthropomorphism and narcissism as professor …
Enjoying Nature in the Cave
Koert van MensvoortNow let us analyze this setup for a moment: You are looking at an avatar character inside a 3D model of a virtual reality cave, enjoying a 'natural' landscape – welcome in the …
The mobile evolution
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn our NextNature event BVPS (May 2008), Kevin Kelly spoke of technology as the 7th kingdom of life : a form of evolution whithout the nasty side–effect of dying (Every object …
The Photoshop Beauties
Koert van MensvoortUsually we don't realize the hours of photoshopping spent on magazine and advertising images before publication. The raw photographic material reveals a lot about the fine craft …