Synthetic Biology for Dummies
Koert van MensvoortArguably the most accessible synthetic biology explanation video so far.
Arguably the most accessible synthetic biology explanation video so far.
://nextnature.net The expanding research culture of synthetic biology demystified in this TV item on the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition . Via Posthuman …
An interview about the history and promises of synthetic biology, and the problem with the word "nature".
Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg discusses the promises and realities of synthetic biology.
Designer and artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg explains how synthetic biology inspires her for designing the cars of the future.
Bioengineer Drew Endy shares his idea of biology as a precision manufacturer that could potentially transform civilization as we know it.
Dig the three minute introduction. Script by Claudia Vickers, Animation by Orlando Mee, Produced by Stephan Kern.
An interview with Daisy Ginsberg, artist and synthetic biologist.
Joyce Hwang discusses the challenges for designers, and gains for citizens, of living in a truly biosynthetic city.
So, 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 …
" The Institute for Digital Biology researches next steps in the evolution of the internet, where websites and services develop into living creatures ." This scenario lives in the …
Next 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 …
Cube Design Museum in Kerkrade and Cooper Hewitt in New York present the comprehensive exhibition NATURE - in which internationally renowned designers, artists and inventors …
Twenty-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 …
Designer and architect Neri Oxman explores how digital fabrication technologies can interact with the biological world. Watch the TED talk.
Current 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 …
In 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 …
Craig Venter announces what might be a historic milestone in the nature caused by people. For 15 years, Craig Venter and his team of scientists have tried to synthesize life from …
Fat rats with unrestricted access to high-calorie food still lose weight with the help of a genetic implant.
We 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.
A promising way to grow body parts: using an apple.
It is trying its very best to stay hidden: but would you be fooled by its fake nature ? This synthetic pollinizer, a conceptual project by artist Michael Candy , may intuitively …
Conservation workers ask synthetic biologists to help them save the world's endangered creatures and habitats.
A stunning pre-history of the anthropocene
Biotechnology 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 …
Humans have been manipulating living things for thousands of years. Examples of early biotechnologies include domesticating plants and animals and then selectively breeding them …
New 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 field of biofabrication is still new to most people. As founder and CEO of Biofabricate, Suzanne Lee shared with us this exciting online event series Creatives in Biotech . If …
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should – real-world genetic engineers can learn from the cautionary tale. “ Jurassic World: Dominion ” is hyperbolic Hollywood entertainment …
Science Gallery is calling synthetic biologists, bio-artists, bio-designers, amateur biotechnologists and bio-hackers to submit proposals for projects for their upcoming flagship exhibition GROW YOUR OWN.
When 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 …
A team of scientists created a semi-synthetic organism with an expanded genetic alphabet.
As 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 …
Biosensors, cultivated meat and spider’s silk. For synthetic biologist and Next Nature ambassador Nadine Bongaerts, these are all advances towards a new world, where polluting …
The world is alight with algae fever. In this age of deep ecological design aspirations, the range of speculative design projects based on algae technology is growing. Algae are …
Bacteria are traditionally perceived as infectious and unhealthy, but that is about to change. This week designer Jan van der Asdonk graduated from the Next Nature Lab at the TU/e …
We recently spoke to Ilari Laamanen, to peel the outcrops of Momemtum9, and unveil the overlapping themes to the next nature philosophy.
Designers face an unprecedented urgency to alter their methods and reprioritize their goals to address the accelerating degradation of the environment. This new …
Gene editing is advancing at a faster pace than most of us can keep up with. One significant recent announcement was gene editing tool CRISPR’s application to non-genetic diseases …
A koala bear isn’t actually a bear, it’s a marsupial. Whales aren’t fish, they’re mammals . Tomatoes aren’t vegetables, they’re fruit . Almost nothing is actually a nut . Peanuts, …
Newly created synthetic particles that mimic red blood cells may one day carry drug molecules and/or oxygen through bloodstreams, scientists write in the Proceedings of the …
The introductory essay from the Yes, Naturally book - available in our store!
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Would you like to see your work here? Get in touch …
All buildings today have something in common: They are made using Victorian technologies. This involves blueprints, industrial manufacturing and construction using teams of …
At the turn of the millennium, miniaturized canines acquired the cherished status of living, designer handbag ornaments. These teeny tiny photogenic doggies, which had been …
A laboratory is developing a synthetic dog that will be used for surgery trials, saving many canine lives and changing the veterinary world.
We 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 …
The 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 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, …
Rachel Armstrong discusses living buildings, Venice's foundations, millennial nature and how to improve our future.
Nasa funded a program to turn astronauts’ poop into food.
As modern humans, we are out of balance with our natural environment. With use of technology, we try to prolong our human lifespan and create materials that live longer than we …
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 …
Are bacteria faster than a computer? According a group of biological engineers they are. The scientists have done a research in which they have used the well-known bacteria …
If the six hour crash course on synthetic genomics is a bit too much for you, there is always a more snappy TED lecture in which Craig Venter ponders on whether we can create new …
So 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 …
Until now, most people have likely regarded bird-feeders as merely a pleasant addition to their gardens. But scientists have now discovered that bird-feeders in the UK are …
Digital 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 …
Lucy McRae and Rachel Wingfield made a edible DIY bio fab–lab called the Biological Bakery.
So, you are well aware that 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 …
If we are going to mutate the made & the born, let us at least do this creatively.
Read Nicholas Carr's essay on the transhumanist dream of having wings.
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 …
In 2020, scientists made global headlines by creating “ xenobots ” – tiny “ programmable ” living things made of several thousand frog stem cells. These pioneer xenobots could …
THRIVE expo showcases the latest works at the convergence of art, design, and biology, which examine current and future uses of biotechnology.
We 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 …
If 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 …
We 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.
Our workshop with kids from Lanterna Magica, an unconventional primary school in Amsterdam.
As 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 …
"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 …
Australian regulators will soon be faced with a challenge: can animal flesh produced in a lab be called meat? Amid reports that lab-grown meat could be on sale this year, the US …
Occupying the 52nd floor of Tokyo’s Mori Tower, Mori Art Museum is internationally renowned for its visionary approach and highly original curation of contemporary art. The …
Nature has always been a source of inspiration for many artists and designers, yet the urgency to connect to nature is more pressing than ever. Environmental issues such as …
This cell-shaped building for the institute for Nanobiomedical Technology & Membrane Biology in Chengdu, China, is an unusual croos-disciplinary collaboration between MIT …
We’ve written earlier about man–made bacteria that eat waste & shit petrol . How about a genetically modified bacteria that can eat CO2 and excrete methane that could power …
With his speculative ‘acoustic garden’ David Benqué tries to explore our cultural and aesthetic relationship to nature. He states that the current debate around Genetic …
Renegade architect and futurist Rachel Armstrong has proposed that our cities, currently constructed of dead trees, baked mud, and refined ore, need to be coated in a layer of …
The 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 …
In 2009 the Initiative for Science, Society and Policy coined the phrase ‘living technology’ [1] to draw attention to a group of emerging technologies that are useful because they …
Daan Roosegaarde is exploring possibilities to replace streetlights with luminous trees.
Outside 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.
The first digital life form is an interactive worm based on its real biology.
US-scientists extended the DNA alphabet with two new created 'foreign' building-blocks.
Bioengineers at Harvard University have created the first cyborg tissue.
Technology is nestling itself within us and between us, has knowledge about us and can act just like us.
After it sold out, the Next Nature book has been reprinted with a brand new cover.
Speculative designer Agi Haines' work focuses on (re)designing the human body, and speculates upon future scenarios.
A Biomedical solutions company is developing a system for insects to wear, allowing engineers to steer it remotely.
We asked Sandra Rey, our third ECO Coin Award nominee, about her company Glowee and her hopes for illuminating the future in a more sustainable way.
Our Next Nature Habitat VR experience has won the Sweden International Virtual Reality Award in the category Best 360 Video!
DNA is the densest known storage medium in the universe - and Harvard University researchers have managed to use it to store GIFs inside bacteria.
Imagine, it’s 2050 and you are feeling hungry. What will be on your plate? Where will your food come from, and how will it be produced? It may be juicy ants from the nearest …
Welcome to the conversation! Every week, we’ll open up a new conversation among members of the network about next nature topics we've encountered around the globe. We hope …
Look around you and try to find the most natural thing in the room you are in now. It is you. But for how long? Welcome to the wonderful world of bio design ; a world full of …
Leather 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 …
Pink 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 …
Patricia Piccinini is an artist interested in the relationship between humans and non-humans, the natural and the artificial, science and storytelling. Working with silicone, …
This 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 …
When 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 …
As 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.
The 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 …
DNA 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 …
My 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 …
Do humans exist merely to make money and use resources? Vandana Shiva believes humans have a higher purpose.
Julian Melchiorri created a synthetic biological leaf that absorbs water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen just like a plant.
Three minutes in the mind of Juan Enriquez, director of Synthetic Genomics.
The popular social network icon has been turned into a potentially lethal narcotic substance.
The SkinBook is made of synthetic skin that allows beginner tattooists to practice their skills.
Dutch 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 with Mike Thompson and Susana Cámara Leret.
Using biology as a model for innovation and progress, Alyssa Stark embodies the essence of Biomimicry.
The world of design is in need of new materials that align with the urgency for sustainability. Issues such as climate change, plastic waste and harmful materials require us to …
Oded 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 …
Our deficiencies have always driven us, even among our distant ancestors, back in the last Ice Age. Having neither the speed and strength to hunt large prey, nor sharp teeth and …
The Earth BioGenome Project is aiming to create a database of genomes of all organic life on earth within 10 years.
Next Senses explores the unchartered territory of how we could experience the world with technology
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 …
Genetic 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 …
European biologists have constructed a genetic map of Europe showing the relations between its various populations. The right part of the map shows the location in Europe where …
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 …
Tru Blood is a synthetic nutrient for vampires that completely eliminates the need to seek sustenance from any living creature. Packaged as a consumer good at your local …
Talking about nature and nurture as separate, clear-cut forces is far adrift from the complexities of developmental science, says Evelyn Fox Keller in NewScientist . ONE of the …
At ISEA 2010 , the International Symposium on Electronic Arts, media artists and media researchers from all over the world present their work in Dortmund (Germany). This year, …
So, you are well aware that 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 …
Another step in the fusion of the made & the born: Surgeons in Sweden have successfully transplanted a fully synthetic, tissue-engineered organ – a trachea– into a man with …
I've noticed DNA spray notices springing up around Amsterdam. I assumed it was a fairly standard anti-theft device: A crime is committed, a little nozzle is activated by the …
Researchers learned that city birds have larger brains relative to their body size. No, they are not getting big-headed from their exposure to big-city sophistication, but rather …
In vitro meat has been billed as a way to end animal suffering , put a stop to global warming , and solve the world's insatiable demand for animal protein. There's no doubt that …
Neural synapses in the human brain are extraordinarily complex structures. Responsible for relaying information between neurons, chemical synapses govern the release of over 100 …
The wunderkammer – the traditional repository of natural history curiosities and cultural relics – has been updated by the Center for PostNatural History in Pittsburgh, which …
The 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 …
Illustrators from the 1800s to the 1950s offer strange prediction for the future of meat.
Media artist, filmmaker and wonderjunkie Jason Silva talks about technological evolution and why humans are gods with anuses.
$220 ice cream glows thanks to synthetic bioluminescent proteins derived from jellyfish.
Minsu Kim created a wonderful series of living dishes that wiggle and wave on your plate.
By the turn of the century, some people began raising questions about our meat consumption habits.
Food and Concept designer, Chloé Rutzerveld, explains her 3D food printing project Edible Growth.
Scientists succeeded in implanting non toxic nano-motors into living cells.
Since 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.
These synthetic organisms from our In Vitro Aquarium are a hybrid between plants and animals. Would you eat them?
Biomimicry is a documentary on the topic of how life and biology can be the mentors for our own innovation in the world.
The eco-friendly food packaging material able to improve food safety, conservation and quality.
Watch a fly land on the kitchen table, and the first thing it does is clean itself, very, very carefully. Although we can’t see it, the animal’s surface is covered with dust, …
We 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.
Dutch fashion designer specialized in wearable technology, Pauline van Dongen researches the human body in relation to its surroundings.
We present for the real sneaker heads amongst us, six new futuristic pieces of footwear. Going from pineapple leather to self lacing 'Back to the Future' Nikes.
What if the cause of our politic choice was in our evolution, hidden deep in our genes and digging up our tribal instincts?
Researches at the University of Illinois released a step by step guide to build 3D printed bio robots with living muscles.
We recently interviewed Lining Yao, Chinese interaction designer who uses organic materials as a technology that brings us back to nature.
NNN director Koert van Mensvoort writes a letter to humanity.
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Next Nature Memory Game. Now available in our web shop, it playfully explores the shifting borders between biology and technology.
Discover the Next Nature Habitat VR and explore four future environments we might live in someday.
Right now, somewhere in a laboratory in California, the Netherlands or Japan, a technician is taking a few thousand skeletal muscle cells from a living animal, and placing them in …
The 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 …
Imagine you could communicate telepathically with a whale, listen to the WiFi networks in your environment, or experience smells through seeing color. Developments in technology …
For 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 …
As 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 …
You’ve probably heard how Virtual Reality (VR) is going to change everything: the way we work, the way we live, the way we play. Still, for every truly transformative technology, …
Hooray! This just in: Next Nature Network is granted a significant contribution from the Dutch government intended to develop a Future Lab for design & technology in Eindhoven …
Historians often trace the dawn of human civilisation back 10,000 years, when Neolithic tribes first settled and began farming in the Fertile Crescent, which stretches through …
Matilde Boelhouwer is a designer whose work speculates between art, design, science, biology and food. Matilde shapes this obligation into a studio which mainly focuses on the …
While aviation accounts for 2.4% of all emissions from fossil fuel use globally, two-thirds of the sector’s warming effect depends on something other than its CO₂ emissions. And …
Lately 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 …
Promising 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 …
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 …
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 …
In the supermarket of the future, part of the Embassy of Food at Dutch Design Week, designer Merle Bergers will present her project Microbiota To Go.
In a ground-breaking discovery, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have achieved to produce insulin out of lettuce. There's no need for needles and injections anymore, …
We interviewed William Myers and Emma van der Leest, curators of Nature Loves Technology, our exhibition at Floriade 2022
Dutch photographer Koen Hauser blends parts of the human body with parts from anatomical models. You know, the ones you had in biology class and gave you this fine colorful …
Generative graphics and organic information design are making their way into the world of the applied arts. For the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, …
Business card slash micro-terrain by Tur & Partner, landscape architects. It's a portable garden: impregnated with seeds, in the photosynthetic presence of sunlight and water, the …
At 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 …
NAT, designing nature is about the interface where nature and culture, biology and design intertwine. An exhibition that is a cross between an exotic Garden of Eden and an illegal …
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 …
The free cultural paper Amsterdam Weekly discusses the Natural Revolution of and includes tree tips for successful living in the next version of nature. Download PDF (148kb) . …
Playing God? – "We are not playing..." After having seen this TED talk by Craig Venter , I came across a cynical yet clarifying comic (etcgroup.org) on his plans to build a new …
Our peculiar object of the week is the 'Kokon Chair' created by Dutch designer Jurgen Bey , who wrapped existing chairs with tight, elastic synthetic fiber resulting in a highly …
The fabrication of forests with artificial trees is one of the best strategies to stop climate change, according to scientists of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers . The …
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 …
DNA evidence has been the most bulletproof evidence for forensic sciences in recent years. Not anymore. A laboratory at Nucleix, a life-sciences company, has demonstrated it is …
Bird spotting is not a typical activity for us next nature explorers, yet occasionally we bump into some birds worth mentioning (remember the amazing copy-paste bird , rubber duck …
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 …
Scientists have developed a mosquito that spreads vaccine instead of disease. The researchers, led by molecular geneticist Shigeto Yoshida of Jichi Medical University in Tochigi …
Alright the title "Making Perfect Life" ' may sound a bit 20th-century-modernistic-techno-optimistic-naive, but for the rest we are confident this conference is going to be pretty …
A 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 human body is increasingly recognized as a biometric source of information for a wide spectrum of issues, including security, psychopathology, personality and health. Earlier …
Corporate logos constantly have to adapt in order to survive. In the case of the Shell oil company this results in an image that ironically resembles the ones we know from the …
Is 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 …
Inspired by crickets, researchers of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology of the University of Twente in the Netherlands have build a biomimetic sensor that can measure changes …
In a vivd example of the blur between culture and nature, players using an online game called Foldit have helped solve complex questions for researchers about enzyme models. The …
Intentionality 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 …
Stanford researchers are developing 'biotic games' involving paramecia and other living organisms. So far, they have created three games that mimic classic video games. The …
MyMicrobes , interestingly dubbed "Fecesbook" by ABC News , is the new social network for your gastrointestinal bacteria. For only $2,100 and a bit of poo you can become a member …
While some of us might have heard of the humorous but fictional ' spider pig ,' spidergoats are the real deal. Although you might expect to see them lounging in giant webs or …
Christian 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 …
Blue 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 …
Our bodies are maps of our ancestor's social lives. We evolved, physically and behaviorally, in incredibly complex social groups. Such intense sociability may have favored the …
Over the last few decades, the public has been – and still is – creating awareness on the values of organically produced foods. For many foodies an important value of organic …
There is a domain of creatures that diffusively encircles an entire planet. There are so many of them that they occupy every conceivable ecological niche. Yet, despite their …
Canada-based Okanagan Specialty Fruits is pitching a genetically engineered apple that does not turn brown when bruised or exposed to air. This new technology, available in both …
Most corn has been selectively bred over the centuries to be a single color: yellow, white or blue. Glass gem corn, a varietal grown by Greg Schoen , harkens back to the days when …
Back to the natural future? A startup company in Oregon is manufacturing bike helmets made of wood and cork that should meet or surpass the impact performance of plastic and foam …
The 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 …
Another step in the fusion of the made & the born: Researchers at Harvard University managed to make an artificial jellyfish using a sheet of silicone and rat heart cells. The …
The high temperatures of urban environments causes trees to grow faster in the city than in rural areas. Researchers at Columbia's Earth Institute have discovered this by planting …
Humans act as bio-excavators that literally move mountains.
An showcase of what we are currently capable of installing in human beings.
The 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 …
Biohacker Tim Cannon inserted a chip into his arm to monitor his bodily data and transmit it to an Android device.
Algae as the future alternative fuel for the human body.
In vitro meat is creepy, unnatural and downright disgusting – and so is every other kind of food we eat.
Wine and bacteria combine to make seamless clothing.
Hendriks’s activity explores the positive transformative power of creative impulses and the importance of fundamental free scientific research.
Some four years ago we wrote about a plan to create bioluminescent trees that would replace streetlights. This dream is getting closer.
Artist Maja Smrekar modified yeast with her own DNA to produce human lactic acid.
When moss photosynthesize, they release nutritious fats, carbs and proteins into their roots to feed colonies of helpful, symbiotic bacteria. In the process of breaking down these …
Volume magazine interviews Next Nature founder Koert van Mensvoort.
New in our store: Two very next natural issues of Volume Magazine.
Body builders rejoice: scientists have synthesized the world's first artificial proteins.
With advances in genomics, imaging and other technology,scientists have to face the age of big data.
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the warms build pavilions made of polygonal silk panels.
The first 3D printed house is a recognisable and attractive Dutch Canal House, an exhibition and building site in the heart of Amsterdam.
Parallel to the democratization of computers some decades ago, biotech is rapidly becoming more accessible to creative people outside of closed institutions.
Sixteen-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 …
For the first time, researchers at the University of Linkoping , Sweden, have succeeded in establishing organic circuits within living plants. They combined electronics with the …
Thanks to the work of researchers at Cornell University (USA), for the first time a litter of puppies was born entirely from in vitro fertilization.
A wooden floor that follows the curves of the tree it's made of, thanks to smart milling techniques.
Interview with Liam Young on his work in speculative architecture, the future, and our role in nature as humans.
A startup called New Wave Foods is developing artificial shrimp meat in the laboratory.
Zackary Scholl developed a program to produce a poem that passed the Turing Test.
An extraordinary yogurt that could soon implement accurate, young disease diagnosis.
Scientists managed to create what every woman has been dreaming of: a second skin to reduce wrinkles and tighten the skin.
MIT researchers have developed a system of traffic control that will make traffic lights obsolete.
Researchers are creating accurate 3D models of living organisms to preserve the heritage of life on Earth.
The new recyclable, foldable and affordable bike helmet can change city bike sharing for good.
We 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.
CRISPRy cabbage has been served for the first time in the world.
A new community currency that rewards recyclers with local discounts and deals.
Researchers are experimenting with a new technology that would be able to grow drones from chemical compounds.
Scientists in Harvard University have designed a new material inspired by organisms, such as cacti, that can effectively harvest water from thin air.
The human ear is a miracle of mechanical evolution. It allows us to hear an astonishing range of sounds and to communicate and navigate in the world. It’s also easy to damage and …
Eating meat has made us who we are today: evolved, intelligent humans, able to use a verbal language.
There's a factory in China that produces mosquitos and their plan is to defeat the Zika virus.
To celebrate the 500 year anniversary for Hieronymus Bosch, Studio Smack made a contemporary interpretation of 'The Garden Of Earthly Delights'.
Our online reputation is becoming a valuable currency that is hard to earn and easy to lose.
What happens to robots that are no longer needed? In the future robots will be biodegradable.
Where most researchers are focusing on keeping bees alive, researchers of Harvard are developing a bee replacement; the Robobee. The Robobee is only the size of half a paperclip, with ultra thin wings flapping 120 times per second. The main goal is to build a mechanic pollinator.
As emerging biotechnologies are blurring the lines between synthetic food and natural food, who will regulate cellular agriculture?
According to a new study, humankind is now entering the "Age of Plastic". The research investigates the evidence that we are living in the Anthropocene, a time in which humanity is the main geological force.
Our cities are made out of steel and concrete. What if we replace them with wood and bone?
A lamb born at the equivalent of 23 weeks in a human gestational period was kept alive in an artificial womb and developed just as if it was in a normal womb.
Bacteria use electronic messaging system to recruit new workers.
Brighter inks, without pigment: nanostructured capsules could bring about paints and electronic displays that never fade.
Scientists develop engineered cells to be implanted in patients with diabetes to regulate blood sugar levels, controlled with a smartphone app.
GM varieties of petunia are not authorized for cultivation in the EU.
A clinical startup sells millennial blood to reverse aging.
What if we could redesign the system to work for humanity and the planet we call home? What would the economy of ecology look like?
Wu Tzu-ning presents a posthuman reality from genetic engineering to digital afterlife.
How many cyborgs did you see during your morning commute today? I would guess at least five. Did they make you nervous? Probably not; you likely didn’t even realize they were …
The debate on the future of artificial biological reproduction is moving to Mexico. C Minds, an impact innovation agency that believes in ‘a 4th Industrial Revolution that brings …
The world’s first bio-brick grown from human urine has been unveiled by University of Cape Town (UCT) master’s student in civil engineering Suzanne Lambert, signalling an …
Agriculture may be one of the oldest of our technologies. Over time it has developed, changed, revolutionized, industrialized - or simply put, it has evolved . Today’s farms are …
We 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.
This year we are proud to announce that, with her ambitious work within the field of bioluminescence for Glowee, Sandra Rey is the ECO Coin Award 2017 winner.
A large-scale asian food market serving in vitro meat, a transatlantic expo on the future of nature and a travelling exhibition that explores our relationship with AI. These five …
As a young bio designer at the start of your career, you'll have to overtake all kinds of obstacles. From the collection of living materials to working in a laboratory and …
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 …
Go 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 …
In 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 …
Would 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 …
We are a network of makers, thinkers, educators and supporters. With members in 44 countries, we are the international network for anyone interested in the debate on our future – …
“Please refrain from hand shaking" is a common sign we now see as a result of public health organizations advising people to avoid shaking hands as a greeting. As people still …
This story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Would you like to see your work here? Get in touch …
We 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, …
We 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, …
You are what you eat; a quite common message in the midst of our self-growth society. We have to eat well to become the best version of ourselves - more productive, healthier …
Recently, Twitter announced it would be clearing all inactive accounts in an effort to free up dormant usernames and prevent the risk of old accounts being hacked. The new policy …
' Team Human ' is a manifesto—a fiery distillation of media theorist Douglas Rushkoff’s most urgent thoughts on civilization and human nature. In one hundred lean and incisive …
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 …
Today 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 …
As the viral pandemic continues to spread, so too does the world’s collective uncertainty. As a result, people are turning to media for some levity. And can you blame them. …
Imagine 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 …
'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.
Dig 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 …
The world needs interdisciplinary creators who are designing not just for humans, but for the rest of the living planet. To foster this thinking, Biodesign Challenge (BDC) pairs …
Imagine you’re in a hot air balloon flying over an African savanna in the late growing season. Below, herds of elephants, zebras, wildebeests and rhinos roam a mosaic landscape …
What will the supermarket of the future look like? And what kind of food will you be able to buy there? That is what the Embassy of Food is researching. The production and …
The 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 …
We 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 …
Are we alone in the universe? The famous Seti (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) programme has been trying to answer this question since 1959. American astronomer Carl …
When we think of robots, we typically do not think of small cellular organisms made with embryonic cells from frogs. However, this is exactly what the joint teams at University of …
Is it possible to imagine other earthly stories? Can we conceive of other ways of living among different species? This exhibition explores these issues with the help of a …
In a feat of biomimicry that seamlessly marries biology with physics, tests carried out at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering made fascinating …
It’s our pleasure to announce the first issue of the Next Nature Magazine. Indeed, a good old fashioned magazine. Next Nature Magazine presents 176 pages of thought-provoking …
The 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 …
Most 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 …
Architect Rachel Armstrong establishes an alternative approach to sustainability. Through a close reading of computational properties of the natural world, Armstrong develops a …
When 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 …
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: magazine@nextnature.net. …
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 …
You are in for a surprise when you look at food and concept designer Chloé Rutzerveld 's portfolio. It is hard to believe that somebody so young - she is just 25 - has already …
Will there still be a supermarket as we know it today in 2050?
Each year we search the globe for people and projects that have outstandingly contributed to make this planet a more sustainable place and honour them with our ECO Coin …
Exploring the co-evolution of yeast and humans, while discovering the aesthetic value of yeast biotechnology, is what designers Anna Dumitriu and Alex May have been concocting. …
The most wonderful time of the year can turn stressful quite easily when you run out of exciting gift-ideas. Don't worry, we got you covered.
Then, as now, one person could literally change the course of history, with nothing more than an idea.
*Our open call will continue for another month due to popular demand* Calling all art students, academics and everything in between. Are you a recent graduate (or soon to be)? Do …
Hello upcoming bio artists and designers! We invite designers and artists interested in bio art & design to propose projects for collaborative work across disciplines. The Bio …
Sometimes a festival can be so much more. Tapping into arts, design, and electronic and experimental music festival, Sónar Lisboa (8-10 April) is one for the body and for the …
What if living objects could re-connect humans with their menstrual cycle and change the way we perceive it?
From the mythical fountain of youth to the many anti-aging procedures available today: humans have dreamed of internal youth for a long time already. At lot of us perceive aging, …
It's not every day that someone walks into your office with a shoebox, and even more rare when that shoebox contains a potential future.
Within the digital realms of our smartphones, WhatsApp groups cater to diverse intents: exchanging witty dad jokes, soliciting style counsel ahead of night-outs with friends, or …
Designer Govert Flint proposes a new office concept, entirely based on movement and play.
Ten books that continue to inspire the next nature philosophy—gathered for you to read this summer.
Meet United Matters, a London collective exploring how we might live in the future by blurring the boundaries between craft, science and technology.