System Animals
Koert van MensvoortWhat animal is so naive to come into this world as a naked and crying infant, completely vulnerable, helpless, and an easy prey for any predator? Newborn lamb or giraffe’s babies …
Search results for System Animals
Belief System Meets Operating System
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThe façade of an Indian temple constructed from a large-scale print of a Facebook Wall.
Animals Made from Other Animals
Allison GuyThat's no reindeer, and it's certainly no moose. It's an Irish Elk, Megaloceros giganteous , a deer that happens to be neither an elk, nor really all that Irish. What it does …
Next Generation: Designing ecosystems of technology with Maike Gebker
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
Totem Animals for the Anthropocene
Ted HeistmanInvasive species become the animal symbols for a man-made world.
Body hair helps animals stay clean – and could inspire self-cleaning technologies
David HuWatch 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, …
Animals are shapeshifting to cope with climate change
Sara RydingGlobal warming is a big challenge for warm-blooded animals, which must maintain a constant internal body temperature. As anyone who’s experienced heatstroke can tell you, our …
Is in vitro meat good news for animals?
Ruben BaartThe Singapore Food Agency has approved “chicken bites” containing meat made from real chicken cells that were grown outside of a chicken’s body. Alongside similar news from Israel …
Flying Car Modular Transport System
Elle Zhan WeiAirbus and Italdesign unveil modular urban land and air transport system.
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.
Augmented Animals
Dr NaturalAnimals do not shape their living environment as radically as humans, but why don't we give them some help. James Auger envisions animals, birds, reptiles and even fish becoming …
We Love Cities, so Do Wild Animals
Alessia AndreottiHow wild animals and cities are adapting to each other.
New Volvo Recognizes Shapes of Animals like Deer & Elk to Reduce Crash Impact.
Koert van MensvoortVolvo cars is testing a new safety system that automatically hits the brakes once an animal is detected in the vehicles vicinity. The Animal Detection System expands the range and …
Fake-for-Real Fur from Imaginary Animals
Alice FumeyWWF teams up with designers to produce fur from imaginary animals
Plastic Junk Helps Ocean Animals (Sometimes)
Allison GuyWhile the Pacific garbage patch is often characterized as a dense, Texas-sized island of plastic, in reality it's an area of 2,736 square km scattered with tiny, floating bits of …
Animals Mistaken For Spies
NextNature.netEgyptian authorities detained a stork last week on suspicion of espionage.
Animals Give Leadership Lesson to Humans
Margherita OlivoWhat are the characteristics of the perfect leader? The answer could be found looking at nature.
A System that Predicts Crime
Ingmar NieuweboerAn experiment tries to prevent crime by identifying aggressive behavior with new surveillance technology before actual violence is used.
Underground animals
Rolf CoppensThe Animals, made up using tube lines, stations and junctions on the London Underground map. I like these because it makes such a complex system really personal and funny. Watch …
Hyper Animals
Koert van MensvoortNo no, don't worry! These hypernatural animals aren't the genetic surprise of some mad scientist, it is artist Sarina Brewer resampling, remixing and stitching together her Custom …
Immune Systems
Koert van MensvoortQuite a multi-layeredness of the artificially strengthened immune systems they have in place at the Thai border. Microbes and terrorist: hand in your passport. Peculiar image of …
Beach animals
Arnoud van den HeuvelTheo Jansen makes skeletons which are able to walk on the wind. He wants to put these "animals" out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives. strandbeest
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 …
Begging Ghetto Blasters Hack the System
Ingmar NieuweboerBegging ghetto blasters in Utrecht are making you question poverty.
Animals Doing Extreme Stunts
Koert van MensvoortCGI video of animals doing crazy stunts makes us realize how peculiarly creative humans really are.
Animals Love Technology
Alessia AndreottiA macaque stole a tourist's iPhone and fiddled around with it like a human would.
Australians Wake Up One Hour Early Due to System Error in Their Mobile Phones
Koert van MensvoortThe glitch meant many woke an hour earlier than usual, leaving not just phone customers but whole households unhappy about rising early.
GPS Drawing - Global Positioning System
oustamanGPS drawings over land , on water , and in the air were created to investigate principles and techniques of geodesic drawing. The maps were made to measure travels and tracks and …
Robots Love Animals Too
Allison GuySomeday robots may lead fish to safety. At least, that's the hope of Dr. Maurizio Porfiri, an Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University and expert …
Animals of the Future
Nick van der WeijdenNearly every adult in the Western world owns a personalized pet, sometimes more than one . It is treated with great care, fed when necessary and fitted to the owner’s wishes and …
Hurricane Naming System
Arnoud van den Heuvel#t=103 Since 1948 the World Meteorological Organisation has been naming hurricanes and tropical storms. "ANDREW", "SANDY", "IVAN", "KATRINA", to name a few. But what did these …
#9: Be Aware of the Ecosystem You're Invading
NextNature.netPart 9 in the 11 part series Anthropomorphism and Design . With most products, one wouldn’t normally worry about the environment that it enters. However, anthropomorphic products …
A Frankenstein-esque System
Fenna Klein TuenteThe boundary between humans and machines is slowly but steadily blurring. The Immortal is a machine which exists out of several life-support machines connected with wires and electric cords.
Plastic is a new material in the Earths ecosystem
Koert van MensvoortI gathered this hand full of tiny pieces of plastic on less than one square meter of beach in Greece (map) . Spotted with the Next Nature Spotter iPhone app .
What if Mosquitoes Were Only a Zoo Species?
Mathilde NakkenGenetic engineers are developing techniques to kill several types of mosquitoes.
Social animals are the inspiration for robot swarms
Edmund HuntFrom flocks of birds to fish schools in the sea, or towering termite mounds , many social groups in nature exist together to survive and thrive. This cooperative behaviour can be …
Animals in advertising
KarlThe work of photographer Michael Wolf, amazing photos of buildings, plants, food and furniture. And unicorns. His website is definitely worth a look .
Bacteria Use Electronic Messaging
Julie ReindlBacteria use electronic messaging system to recruit new workers.
3D Printed Capsule Replaces Needle Injection
Julie ReindlA needle free oral delivery system might in the future dissolve the old way of vacancies injected by syringes.
Next Generation: Simulating textile ecosystems with Scarlett Yang
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
This podcast aims to help design better food systems
Ruben BaartThe podcast Food by Design was created by Sarah Codraro and Sandeep Pahuja, and is hosted by Sandeep. According to the makers "Our food system is not 'broken'. It’s working …
Time Between Emergence and Design
carolinenevejanPreviously, experiences of time emerged from nature as given – offering seasons, the rhythm of humans, plants and animals. Nowadays, people integrate nature-time, body-time, inner-time, clock-time, and global 24/7 systems-time. Human beings, in past, current and next natures, have to deal with emergence and design of time in order to survive.
Enter the symbiocene
Glenn AlbrechtWhat if we would use the idea of symbiosis as the basis for the next period of Earth’s history?
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.
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 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 …
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.
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 …
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, …
Next Generation: listening to ultrasound waves with Sheng-Wen Lo
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
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 …
What is a species?
Henry TaylorA 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, …
Max Liboiron: pollution is colonialism
Ruben BaartWe 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 …
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.
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'.
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 …
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.
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.
Letter to Humanity
Koert van MensvoortNNN director Koert van Mensvoort writes a letter to humanity.
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 …
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 …
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.
Talking non-human nonsense with Nonhuman Nonsense
Ruben BaartNonhuman 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 …
What Ant Colony Networks Can Tell Us About What’s Next for Digital Networks
Deborah GordonEver notice how ant colonies so successfully explore and exploit resources in the world … to find food at 4th of July picnics, for example? You may find it annoying. But as an …
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.
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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.
Yes, Naturally
Ine GeversThe introductory essay from the Yes, Naturally book - available in our store!
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.
Humans could recolonize Earth after mass extinctions with ectogenesis
Matthew 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 …
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 …
Your next doctor might just be a robot
Jack CaulfieldConventional wisdom says that you can’t replace the human touch in terms of medical care, but in our rapidly changing technological environment, it appears that this perception …
Can AI become addicted?
Thomas MoynihanIn 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 …
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 …
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 …
Chinese farmers are using AI to help rear the world’s biggest pig population
James VincentIt’s been called China’s “pork miracle.” For centuries, pig-rearing in the country was predominantly a backyard occupation. (The etymology of the Chinese character for “home” …
Human-animal hybrids could be used for growing organs
Mackenzie GrahamAround the world thousands of people are on organ donor waiting lists. While some of those people will receive the organ transplants they need in time, the sad reality is that …
Erkundungen im Nächste Natur (D)
Die Natur verändert sich mit uns (English version: Exploring Next Nature ) by Koert van Mensvoort , published in Entry Paradise, Neue Welten des Designs, Gerhard Seltman, Werner …
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, …
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 …
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 …
Gene-Edited Micropigs Will Be Soon Sold As Pets
Wei Lun WangEarlier this year, a group of Chinese scientists published a paper about the modification of the genome of human embryos with the cutting-edge powerful technique called CRISPRs. …
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 …
The church of AI
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 …
The Embassy of Health is designing a chronically healthy society
Eloise MaraisHow will we stay healthy in the future? Can we utilize the power of design to move towards a more healthy society?
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 …
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 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, …
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 …
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.
Artificial Light Threatens Pollination
Daniel FragaA recent study demonstrated how artificial light is a serious threat to plant pollination. It puts plant reproduction in danger, as well as the whole ecosystem.
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 …
How public camera recordings domesticate us
Janina SteinmetzFacial recognition is increasingly being used in many countries around the world. In some cases the take up has been dramatic . As a result, people are being observed by cameras …
Towards a global society as a superorganism
Ruben BaartToday 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 …
Blind woman sees with new implant and plays video game sent straight to her brain
Ruben BaartIt’s been over a decade since artificial retinas first began helping the blind see. But for many people, whose blindness originates beyond the retina, the technology falls short. …
Next Generation: Wandering through the post wilderness with Melissa Schwarz
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
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 …
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 …
Nature through the Windshield
Brendan CormierVolume magazine interviews Next Nature founder Koert van Mensvoort.
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.
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 …
Should lab-grown meat be labelled as meat when it's available for sale?
Hope JohnsonAustralian 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 …
Maurizio Montalti talks about the cycle of life
Meike SchipperAs 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 …
Discussing non-human centered design with Kelvin Godee and Simon Wijrdeman
Ruben BaartWhat 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 …
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 …
Elephants are geodesigners
Jeppe Aagaard KristensenImagine 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 …
Track freshness and reduce food waste with Rui Xu
Ruben BaartImagine this: you wake up on a lazy Sunday morning, trudging your way to the fridge only to be welcomed with the smell of something rotting. Did the meat expire sooner than …
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.
Designing for Next Nature (workshop report)
Koert van MensvoortThe extent to which new technologies are intervening with everyday life can hardly be underestimated. Virtual realities, nano- and biotechnology are increasingly providing new …
Social Networking with Plants
Ties van de WerffUsing energy is not a social activity. Every electrical device we use has its own carbon “foorpint” which, in excess, can harm other living beings. How and to what extent you’ve …
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 Risk of Technological Unemployment
Daniel FragaStephen Hawking gives his opinion on what technological unemployment, aka machines taking over our jobs, can represent for future human societies.
Getting Rid of Plastic in the Oceans
Margherita OlivoThe Ocean Cleanup Foundation’s prototype floating barrier wants to clean the oceans water.
Growing Drones From Chemicals
Ruben BaartResearchers are experimenting with a new technology that would be able to grow drones from chemical compounds.
Rating the Reputation Economy
Lewis JustOur online reputation is becoming a valuable currency that is hard to earn and easy to lose.
Animal Guided Mediation
Elle Zhan WeiAnimal Meditation uses meditation guiding sounds to to enable user to feel as if he is an animal.
ECO Coin Award Interviews: Shubhendu Sharma
Jack CaulfieldWe asked Shubhendu Sharm, our first ECO coin award nominee about his method, business and hopes for the future.
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?
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 …
This startup is growing sushi-grade salmon from cells in a lab
Vanessa Bates RamirezAs the ills of factory farming become more pronounced, people are increasingly gravitating towards vegetarian or pescatarian diets. Besides producing a large percentage of our …
Suzanne Lee wants to live in a world that uses only sustainable materials
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 …
The Institute of Digital Fashion explores what's next in the industry
Ruben BaartTrading 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 …
Next Generation: Exploring cybernetic ecologies with Marie Walker-Smith
Liam BekaertThis 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 …
We could power households from the scraps in our food waste bins
Ananya MukherjeeImagine if you could power your kettle using the energy generated from the vegetable cuttings quietly breaking down in your kitchen’s compost bin. That reality might not be so far …
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 …
Next Nature is ancient
Ruben BaartUli Westphal's Seed Series is an ongoing attempt to document the seeds of all edible plants, one seed at a time.
Tail communicator
Sara'The LED Dog Tail Communicator' is an initiative of James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau, and it is part of the larger 'Augmented Animals' project. Its focus points to technological …
BioStream
Arnoud van den HeuvelA renewable energy technology company in Australia designed this power generation system inspired by the shape of the tailfins of sharks, tuna and mackerel. The currents on the …
Next Nature Introduction
Bruce SterlingThis project - the Next Nature Network - is about Nature's brand image. One might surmise that "Nature," being 100 percent all-natural, can't have any brand image. The facts …
Lions Relocate to the Suburbs
Allison GuyAs cities push to the edges of the wilderness, wild animals are increasingly com
Nature is Dead, Long live Nature
Koert van MensvoortLike we did to old nature before, we must now cultivate our technological environment.
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 …
A Stroll Through the Bubbles of Chemicals and Men
Etienne TurpinA stunning pre-history of the anthropocene
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.
A Plan to Eliminate Predators
Alessia AndreottiBritish philosopher David Pearce believes we should to stop animals from hunting and killing other animals.
Pyramid of Technology: How technology becomes nature in seven steps
Koert van MensvoortHow technology becomes nature in seven steps
How to Integrate ECO Coins into Society? Four Eco Dreams in Four Scenarios
NextNature.netEconomy and ecology are two spheres that usually do not cooperate. Thanks to the ECO coin the environmental value can be conceived economically. A currency that can be earned by …
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.
Solar Eclipse May Impact Power Supply Due to Increased Use of Solar Panels
Koert van MensvoortSolar eclipse may impact power supply due to increased use of solar panels
The Coywolf: 65% Wolf, 25% Coyote, 10% Dog
Margherita OlivoThe coywolf: an animal that has the DNA of the wolves, coyotes and dogs.
The Digital Life Project
Alejandro AlvarezResearchers are creating accurate 3D models of living organisms to preserve the heritage of life on Earth.
Lilou the Airport Pig Will Soothe Your Travel
Monika KozubIf you happen to be at San Francisco International Airport on the hectic Holiday time, LiLou, the airport's pig can help you alleviate the stress.
Vacation in the Era of Marine Pollution
Megan Ray NicholsWhile we can’t just leave the coast permanently without upsetting the delicate balance of this new environment we created, we can take better care of it to ensure that it is around for years to come.
Cyborg Dragonfly for Special Service
Ruben BaartA Biomedical solutions company is developing a system for insects to wear, allowing engineers to steer it remotely.
Kangaroos Confuse Self-Driving Cars
Julie ReindlVolvo's driverless car system has trouble recognizing kangaroos because it gets confused by the hopping of the marsupial.
Lazy Worker Ants
Charlotte KuijpersA study reveals that about 40% of "worker" ants spend most of their days doing nothing, but those lazy ants make themselves useful in unexpected ways.
MIT's new voiceless interface can read the words in your head
Vanessa Bates RamirezThe way we interact with the technology in our lives is getting progressively more seamless. If typing terms or addresses into your phone wasn’t easy enough, now you can just tell …
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 …
In conversation with Studio Drift
Meike SchipperA flock of drones that fly like birds, drifting blocks of concrete, a choreography of opening and closing flowers. The work of Studio Drift is challenging the distinction between …
Next Generation: Visualising the diversity of microbial species with Valerie Daude
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
Living robots made from frog stem cells may revolutionize medicine
Freya HutchingsAt just a millimeter wide, Xenobots are “neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal", they are "a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism”, says …
How emojis represent the past, present and future within Next Nature
Britta de VriesIt's that time of year again; the Unicode Emoji 13.0 has announced that 117 new emojis are to be implemented in the second half of 2020. It got us curious of what these new emojis …
Next Generation: Building aquatecture with Shaakira Jassat
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
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. …
What will your future supermarket look like?
Ruben BaartWhat 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 …
This documentary tells the story of Biosphere 2
Ruben BaartCan we create a new biosphere on another planet? Documentary "Spaceship Earth" shows how - in the Arizona desert.
Making an AI supermarket with Nonhuman Nonsense
Ruben BaartWhat does the supermarket of the future look like? The Embassy of Food at Dutch Design week.
Next Generation: Changing the oceans chemistry with Santa Ramaherison
Ruben BaartThis 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
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, …
Merging AI with human brain cells
Kelly van GemertA team of researchers are currently investigating the fusion of human brain cells with artificial intelligence. Creepy or innovative?
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 …
Wild Birds Illegally Immigrating to City Zoo
Koert van MensvoortBesides the extensive collection of animals from around the planet, the Amsterdam City Zoo Artis also houses some local wild species on its premises who immigrated into the zoo on …
Crows crack nuts... and traffic patterns
Allison Guyhttp://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0 Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough, this footage goes to show that urban birds really are smarter . The cross-walking …
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 …
Can Life Be a Technology?
Rachel ArmstrongIn 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 …
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 …
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.
Next Natural Goats Adapt to Climb Trees
Alessia AndreottiThanks to evolution goats can climb, shifting their ecosystems to the trees.
Domestication as a Last Refuge
NextNature.netIn glass capsules endangered rainforest flora will be able to survive regardless of what happens to their natural habitat.
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 …
Forget Google Street View, Here's Cat Street View
Wei Lun WangJapan city has launched an online street view map to introduce the view of the city by a cat's perspective.
Landfills Cause Changes in Bird Migration
Margherita OlivoGarbage dumps may not be very attractive places for us but they sure are for animals. A study published in Science Advances shows how certain groups of storks modified (and …
Floating Green Power
Megan Ray NicholsOffshore renewable energy resources, such as floating solar arrays, have begun to pop up around the world.
AI creates images of food that doesn’t exist (yet)
Tristan GreeneA team of researchers from Tel-Aviv University developed a neural network capable of reading a recipe and generating an image of what the finished, cooked product would look like. …
Can technology be humane?
Koert van MensvoortWe must be mindful about how we engage with technology: what we use it for, why, and whether it helps us or hinders us. Sometimes our tech seems to be flowing in inhumane …
4 visions about the future of public transportation
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 …
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 …
Microbiocene: the 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 …
Watch this robot fish swim through the ocean
Vanessa Bates RamirezEarth’s oceans are having a rough go of it these days. On top of being the repository for millions of tons of plastic waste , global warming is affecting the oceans and upsetting …
3 future farms that 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, …
It could be time to start thinking about a cybernetic Bill of Rights
Mike RyderLike it or loathe it, the robot revolution is now well underway and the futures described by writers such as Isaac Asimov , Frederik Pohl and Philip K. Dick are fast turning from …
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 …
How future fashion could help us cope with isolation
Ruben BaartToday we cannot meet, touch or hug our loved ones. And while we all like the feeling of the touch of another human being, physical contact does not just feel nice, it is crucial …
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 …
Why we need to get better at predicting space weather
Koert van MensvoortThe 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.
Seeking Symbiosis
Ruben BaartVisual artist Heleen Blanken explores the complex relationship between people, nature and technology.
Italians Do It Better
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkTERRACINA, Italy: Before Michele Assunto hauls in his fishing net from the banks of a reed-lined canal here, he uses a pole to push the garbage out of the way. "They really need …
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 …
Cyborg Insects
Koert van MensvoortScientists at the University of California created a neural implant for a beetle that gives them wireless control over the insect. Electrical signals delivered via the electrodes …
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 …
OOMouse versus Magic Mouse
Arnoud van den HeuvelRecently were introduced, the OOMouse ... ...and the Magic Mouse . Both tools are developed to browse the ones and zeros more easily. It almost seems unfair to compare them, so I …
Straight Outta Tokyo
Koert van MensvoortKarera sporting the corporate animals sweater . And pollen allergy. Related post: Corporate animals engraved on laptop . Via Karl .
Dog Modding in China
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkAs a child, I already saw some great tiger potential in my cat and some shark-ish attitude in the behaviour of my goldfish. Personally, I think that since we started domesticating …
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 …
CopyCat
DesignDirkArtist Andrew Chase creates kinetic sculptures of animals. He has studied these animals intensively. After his analysis he created copies of these animals in metal with mechanics …
Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts
Koert van MensvoortOur proposal to study the financial system as an ecosystem is sometimes criticized as 'abuse of vegetational concepts'. Interestingly enough BBC documentary maker Adam Curtis now …
Better Than Nature?
Rachel ArmstrongAt the turn of the millennium, miniaturized canines acquired the cherished status of living, designer handbag ornaments. These teeny tiny photogenic doggies, which had been …
Four Objections to Lab-Grown Meat
Allison GuyIn 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 …
Rotund Rats, Fat Cats and Chubby Chimps
Allison GuyIt's nothing new that humanity is getting chubbier by the day. What's surprising is that we're bringing our animals along for the ride. A meta-analysis of animal weight has …
Thirsty? With a Cyborg Bladder, You'll Never Need to Drink
Allison GuySome desert animals, like the kangaroo rat, get through their lives without needing to drink even a drop of water. Now, a Japanese design company aims to make humans just as …
Andras Forgacs on Victimless Leather
Koert van MensvoortAndras Forgacs argues that bioengineering meat and leather is a civilized way to move beyond slaughtering animals for hamburgers and handbags.
Can This Virtual World Save the Real One?
Alessia AndreottiA Dutch artist designs a Utopian eco-socialist online society.
Grossed Out by Lab-Grown Meat? Here's 7 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Be
Allison GuyIn vitro meat is creepy, unnatural and downright disgusting – and so is every other kind of food we eat.
The Prefuture of Synthetic Biology
Alexandra Daisy GinsbergAlexandra Daisy Ginsberg discusses the promises and realities of synthetic biology.
A Net will Collect Debris from Outer Space
Julia WeberJAXA developes a net that could collect debris from outer space.
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”.
Pixel Space
Lotte BiesheuvelIf the moon were only one pixel: a scale model of the solar system that shows how big our milky way actually is.
Three Points in Support of In Vitro Meat
Alessia AndreottiThe top three aspects why people should support cultured meat.
Anthropo-scene #7: Anthropocene Bird
ChristianDue to human action, 1300 bird species are seriously in decline. Other birds have learned to live with humans and profit from their presence.
Anthropo-scene #9: Sense, Sensors, Sensitivity
ChristianTechnology helps us understand the unfolding of the Anthropocene.
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.
MIT Lets Robot Cheetah Off Leash
Hessel HoogerhuisRobot Cheetah has grown up! Scientists at MIT's Biometrics Robotics Lab have now trained their robo-feline Cheetah to detect obstacles and jump over hurdles as it runs, making it …
Gameplay of the Crowds
Len KromkampAustralian programmer started a social experiment called “Twitch Plays Pokémon”. Over a Million People Play Pokémon in Social Experiment
No-Waste Architecture From Seawater
Margherita OlivoThe Salt Project created an additional ecosystem to revive desertified lands.
A Cryptocurrency Helping to Cure Cancer
Lewis JustPart two of a ten part series exploring the design of an invisible technology: money.
The Death of the Traffic Light
Daniel FragaMIT researchers have developed a system of traffic control that will make traffic lights obsolete.
Enlisting Eagles to Take Down Drones
Margherita OlivoAn eagle clutching a flying drone is probably not a show that you see everyday, unless you live in the Netherlands.
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.
Goodbye Password, Hello Selfie!
Margherita OlivoCompanies try a new, more secure payment system using selfies.
AI Tries to Decode Dolphins
Julie ReindlOver a four year project period, researchers will use artificial intelligence to understand the dolphin language, creating a dolphin dictionary.
Animal Tsunami Alerts from Space
Alejandro AlvarezGlobal data about animal movements are indispensable in our today international networked world to understand how to safe human health and wildlife simultaneously.
Boat Noise Makes Fish Bad Parents
Julie ReindlA study revealed that the sound of motorboat engines disturbs coral reef fish so acutely it changes their behavior, making them bad parents.
Cruising Critters Travel the Ocean on Plastic
Charlotte KuijpersTons of living animals have floated from Japan to the United States traveling across the ocean on plastic junk and debris.
Female Menstrual Cycle on a Computer Chip
Julie ReindlThe complicated system of a female menstruation cycle was reproduced on a computer chip for the first time.
GM Ants Show How Insect Societies Work
Julie ReindlScientists gene modify ants in order to find out more about their social behavior.
HUBOT: Take the Jobtest!
NextNature.netThe robots are coming! They’re getting smarter, cheaper and more reliable. How long will I have my job before a robot steals it? The industrial revolution made muscular power …
The Internet of Bees
Jack CaulfieldWhat can we learn from listening to the buzz of bees' conversation? With the help of a new monitoring system, a Canadian researcher is hoping to find out.
Opening HUBOT at DDW
NextNature.netThe robots have arrived! Yesterday we celebrated the launch of HUBOT , job agency for people and robots at MediaMarkt , as part of the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. Our virtual …
Pay with Your Face
Elle Zhan WeiFace-detecting systems in China now authorize payments, provide access to facilities, and track down criminals.
Tinder for Orangutans
Ruben BaartThe Apenheul primate park in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, has launched a four-year experiment to study how the primates make their mating choices.
A full course cabbage meal to discuss the problem of agricultural over-abundance
Belen MunozLast night we were invited to celebrate the plenty at the third edition of the Neo-Futurist Dinner series at Mediamatic in Amsterdam. This time, the night was hosted by Dutch …
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, …
Future AI may hallucinate and get depressed — just like the rest of us
Tristan GreeneScientists believe the introduction of a hormone-like system, such as the one found in the human brain, could give AI the ability to reason and make decisions like people do. …
I like my steak lab-grown, not-grass fed
Angus HerveyRight 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 …
On inhumane technology
Jack CaulfieldStick-on shoes, wakeup lights, bionic limbs: these are examples of humane technology. But what exactly does this mean? It can best be explained in contrast with its opposite. …
The return of trade: Blockchain technology is enabling trade to make a fierce comeback
Koen WeselBefore money came into existence, trading was all we knew. Farmers in China traded their spades for food and other goods, and this continued up until a point where most spades …
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 …
How an app is helping restaurants cut food waste
Meike SchipperGlobally, humans produce enough food to feed 10 billion people (we are only 7 billion now) yet somehow we waste a third of this. Food waste is one of the biggest climate …
Pirjo Kääriäinen on 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 …
Build an organisation that lasts by creating 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 …
Next Generation: Shimmering nature with Elissa Brunato
Freya HutchingsThis 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 …
‘Optimism is our duty’: in 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, …
Next Generation: Cooking with viruses with Pei-Ying Lin
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 …
Next Generation: Combining AI with human creativity with Sofia Crespo
Freya HutchingsThis 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 …
Next Generation: Exploring the vegetal cyborg with Marie Declerfayt
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
Next Generation: Designing modular fashion with Mathilde Rougier
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
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 …
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.
Bio textiles: meet three designers reimagining materials using biotechnology
Alexandra KisielewskiThe 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 …
5 unusual technologies for harvesting water in dry areas
Manzoor QadirWater scarcity is among the top five global risks affecting people’s wellbeing. In water-scarce areas, the situation is grim. Conventional sources like snowfall, rainfall, river …
Next Generation: Exploring non-binary futures with Lena Kuzmich
Ruben BaartThis 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 next generation xenobots are here
Simon CoghlanIn 2020, scientists made global headlines by creating “ xenobots ” – tiny “ programmable ” living things made of several thousand frog stem cells. These pioneer xenobots could …
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.
Next Generation: Sensing the critical zone with Menno Brouwer
Kelly van GemertThis 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 …
Jurassic World scientists still haven’t learned
Ruben BaartJust 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 …
Why Borghildur Indriðadóttir wishes to perform on the Moon
Kelly van GemertWhat 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 …
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 …
Bluehouses are the new greenhouses
Kelly van GemertFishfarming , or aquaculture has been the fastest growing food-sector for decades. This is nothing to be surprised about: fishing as a practice has been in existence since the …
How to plant seeds with your shoes
Selin KirImagine helping nature restore itself simply by going for a run. In a fusion of fashion and conservation, London-based designer Kiki Grammatopoulos has introduced her concept …
Why looking at beaver dams might save the world
Méline MaquartEddie Corwin studies beaver dams and ponds from satellite images in order to restore watercourses and wetlands, and establish nature reserves.
Next Nature's must reads
Ruben BaartTen books that continue to inspire the next nature philosophy—gathered for you to read this summer.
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 …
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 …
Virtual missing limb
Arnoud van den Heuvel"Many people who lose a limb experience the sensation that it is still attached to their body. This is also often accompanied by a feeling of pain in the missing appendage. …
Killer Robots
Koert van MensvoortRule #1: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Remember Isaac Asimov's classic three laws of robotics ? Surely thats …
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 …
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 …
Think Hello
Arnoud van den HeuvelRemember Asimo ? Honda has now developped a new Brain-Machine Interface technology that allows humans to control the humanoid robot simply by thinking certain thoughts. The BMI …
Virtual Money Is a Pleonasm
Koert van MensvoortHave you heard the buzz on virtual money in online games? Some years ago the first virtual millionaire was announced, yet there have also been reports on people being practically …
Ars Electronica 2010: Artists Adressing NextNature
Ties van de WerffSind wir noch zu retten? That was the slogan of this year’s Ars Electronica festival in Linz (Austria). Titled ‘REPAIR’, the media art festival urged to leave our scepticism and …
Augmented Reality Maps
Michael KluverSince a few years the internet in combination with mobile phone technology brought us something that we refer to as augmented reality : A digital projection that is placed over …
ISEA 2010: Artists addressing NextNature
Ties van de WerffAt 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, …
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 …
Self Catching Fish
Koert van MensvoortResearchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Hole, Massachusetts, are testing a plan to train fish to catch themselves by using a sound broadcast to attract them into …
Animal-Free Meat Could Put a Hold on Global Warming
Koert van MensvoortGrowing meat in the lab, rather than slaughtering animals, could become a viable alternative for people who want to cut the environmental impact of their food consumption, but …
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: …
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 …
Typing Out Evolution
Allison GuyFrom the exhibit "What Machines Dream Of" in Berlin comes Life Writer , a work by Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau. As the participant types, letters are projected on a …
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.
Little Green Cows
Rachel ArmstrongThe 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 …
Mice Reporting For Duty
Jeroen PillaerdsResearchers have developed genetic manipulated mice, with extra smell receptors that make them highly sensitive to the smell of explosives. Scientists hope to use these mice in the future to discover land mines
Structuring biomimicry, improving building's resiliency
Wilfredo Mendez VazquezThe same way Einstein assumes the speed of light to be a constant of reference for his Theory of Relativity, the philosophy of biomimicry assumes Nature as a constant of reference …
Carnivorous Plants Turn Vegetarian
Robin van KampenWill extended pollution cause carnivorous plants to turn to a fully vegetarian diet?
GM Mosquitoes: No Olfaction, No Sting
Alessia AndreottiEngineering mosquitoes to ignore the scent of human flesh.
Are Hawaiian Monk Seals Natural? Not According to Some Hawaiians
Alessia AndreottiWhy native Hawaiian people are killing off native Hawaiian monk seals.
Bugs Paintings: Mixing Art and Science
Alessia AndreottiPainter Stephen R. Kutcher uses different insects to create unique paintings.
No Future for Traditional Meat
Alessia AndreottiAt Home in the Lab with Mark Post, Father of the In Vitro Hamburger. Interview from The In Vitro Meat Cookbook
Car Paleontology
Alessia AndreottiCars - autonomous, self driving, uncontrollable - are bound to become the animals of the future.
GM Salmon Approved for Consumption
Margherita OlivoTime ago we wrote about the fact that US Food and Drug Administration was considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered salmon. We have a verdict: from now on …
IBM Predicts Artificial Intelligence Future
Koert van MensvoortWhile the Watson technology is exponentially increasing its processing power on an annual basis and steadily moving from answering trivia questions, to cooking advice, onto medical advice, it is about time we confront it with the million dollar question: "Watson, what do you want?".
Over 300 Sharks are Now on Twitter
Koert van MensvoortRecently 338 sharks in Western Australia subscribed to the microblogging service. They are now tweeting out where they are.
Tiny Robots Assemble a Room in Minutes
Wei Lun WangDom Indoors , is the latest research project developed by a construction robotics company called Asmbld . It includes a robotic system that can reconfigure an indoor space within …
Recreating Woolly Mammoth DNA
Yunus Emre DuyarScientists at Harvard University inserted wooly mammoth DNA into the genome of the Asian elephant.
Let’s Sweat the Heat Out: Sweating Wall Concept
Wei Lun WangHydroceramic: a composite material able to lower the temperature of an interior space by five degrees Celsius.
Teppanyaki from the In Vitro Aquarium
NextNature.netThese synthetic organisms from our In Vitro Aquarium are a hybrid between plants and animals. Would you eat them?
The Secret Service is Preparing for Drones
Yunus Emre DuyarThe U.S. Secret Service is conducting test drone flights over Washington, D.C.
Turning Cockroaches into Rescue Robots
Yunus Emre DuyarCyborg cockroaches might be used for search-and-rescue operations in the future.
Australia Moves Too Fast for GPS
Mathilde NakkenThe entire continent of Australia has shifted and that's a problem for GPS, meteorologists, automated cars and even drones.
Bees to the Rescue of Their Queen
Margherita OlivoThousands of bees chased a Welsh woman's car for two days looking for their queen.
The First Self-Driving City Coach
Ruben BaartMercedes-Benz just revealed the first self-driving city coach and took it to the streets of Amsterdam for a test drive.
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.
Solar Energy: the Hottest New Currency
Lewis JustEnergy-backed money could help transition humanity to a more sustainable world, both environmentally and economically.
The Autonomous Tractor Is Here
Ruben BaartCase IH debuted their autonomous farm tractor that plants, monitors crops and harvests, all without a driver.
Untouched Nature Is Entirely Gone
Margherita OlivoResearchers prove that pristine landscapes haven’t existed for thousands of years, therefore we should change or mindset before trying to save the planet.
Old Cellphones to Fight Deforestation
Margherita OlivoA Californian engineer is using old cellphones and solar panels to save the rainforest ecosystem against deforestation.
Color Lessons from the Cotinga Bird
Lydia HaldersBrighter inks, without pigment: nanostructured capsules could bring about paints and electronic displays that never fade.
After Horsepower Comes Robotpower?
Jack CaulfieldWe fear being replaced by robots. They have the potential to be smarter, stronger and more hardworking than us, but so do horses.
Designer Anouk Wipprecht combines fashion with robotics
Alessia AndreottiWe met Anouk Wipprecht and talked about smart fabrics and accessories that can listen to our body, therapeutic fashion and the future of dressmaking.
Keeping Up with the Eagles: Birdwatching 2.0
Alessia AndreottiThis live stream video of a Bald Eagles family nesting in Florida has counted more than 72 million viewers.
AI Foodcial Recognition
Julie ReindlPic2Recipe is an artificial intelligence system able to recognize ingredients, identify a dish and suggest recipes from a single image.
Wind Turbines Threatens Birdlife
Elle Zhan WeiA wind farm in Scotland is on hold because of its lethal killing power towards seabirds.
The age of cyborgs has arrived
Vanessa Bates RamirezHow 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 …
Digital islands: How this tiny country is embracing e-governance
Gudrun JakupsRecent years have proved that if you want to look for which countries are adopting innovative digital governing solutions, you don’t look at the usual tech suspects like the US or …
The return of Rayfish Footwear?
NextNature.netRayfish Footwear was a fictional company that offered personalized sneakers crafted from genetically modified stingray leather. This online science fiction story allowed customers …
The Pyramid of Technology: How will we co-evolve with technology?
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThis question is an excerpt from the Pyramid of Technology toolkit Cooking is a process through which humans outsource part of their bodily functions to technology (think …
Iceland is mourning a dead glacier
Rupert ReadDeath certificates and commemorative plaques aren’t something you’d normally associate with a glacier. But that is exactly how Iceland recently mourned the loss of 700-year-old …
How modern technology is inspired by the natural world
John 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 …
Next Generation: Unleashing nature’s untapped potential with Amelie Unger
Freya HutchingsThis 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 …
Smart homes could help dementia patients live independently
Dorothy MonekossoYou might already have what’s often called a “smart home”, with your lights or music connected to voice-controlled technology such as Alexa or Siri. But when researchers talk …
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 …
Meatable: from stem cells to pork chops
Vanessa Bates RamirezThe food chain has always worked roughly like this: sunlight feeds plants. Plants feed insects. Insects and plants feed animals. Plants and animals feed people. Then …
How a 6.000-year-old fruit fly gave us cheese
John MorrisseyHistorians 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 wants to make urban environments flower again
Ruben BaartMatilde 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 …
Netflix is the new symbol of quarantine
Claire OuwejanSince the 16th of March 2020, the government of the Netherlands applied new measures to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Schools, cafes, restaurants and sport …
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.
Can microbes communicate with alien species?
Ruben BaartAre 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 …
Science Friction explores living among companion species
Ruben BaartIs 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 …
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, …
Exploring assisted evolution with Prof. Dr. John van der Oost
Marit BeerseAssisted evolution raises complex questions. The practice involves human intervention to increase the rate of natural evolutionary processes. A technique that inevitably …
The GeneSprout Initiative: cultivating new plant breeding techniques
Ruben BaartSome 10,000 years ago humans began to domesticate plants and animals. The birth of agriculture, one of the earliest technologies available.
Inverting the energy paradigm with Charles Eisenstein
Ruben BaartEnergy 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 sense of privacy
Marit BeerseHumans’ 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.
Next Generation: Unlearning botanical narratives with Nina Škerjanc
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
Dubai will soon house the world's largest artificial coral reef
Kelly van GemertA floating sustainable city where humans can live, work and study while supporting aquatic ecosystems. Soon this will become a reality in Dubai, as sustainable real estate company …
With this sound recognition technology scientists can eavesdrop on nature
Lucas ZarzosoWhat if humans would be able to listen to what nature has to say? Conservationists are trying to grasp non-human sounds , which might help us to better understand environmental …
This bin transforms household waste into chicken food
Selin KirImagine a trash can that matches the size of your ordinary bin, yet it scoffs at weeks' worth of discarded food before even considering fullness. You're off the hook, as there's …
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.
Next Nature: Radikale Mediokrität
Lecture spoken by Henk Oosterling at Biggest Visual Powershow , Zollverein Essen, Germany, 23 June 2006 Damen und Herrn, Next Nature, Nächste Natur ist ein Pleonasmus, ein …
RFID Chips: Is your cat infected with a Computer Virus?
Koert van MensvoortA group of computer researchers from Amsterdam have demonstrated that it is possible to insert a software virus into radio frequency identification tags, part of a microchip-based …
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 …
Technology behind Google's results
Rolf CoppensAs a Google user, you're familiar with the speed and accuracy of a Google search. How exactly does Google manage to find the right results for every query as quickly as it does? …
Augmented Fish Reality
Koert van MensvoortAugmented Fish Reality is an interactive installation of five rolling robotic fish-bowl sculptures. These sculptures allow Siamese Fighting fish (Betta Splendons) to use …
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 …
PET project
Rolf Coppens"I love the idea of using liquid containers to make water animals. Contained/containing, trash/not-trash, like the jelly-fish or anemone: Living/non-living And I wanted some …
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 …
Call for Proposals: Designing for Next Nature
Nowadays, children know more corporate logo's and brands than bird or tree species. The average Western person has more worries about the instability of financial markets and …
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 …
Lion and giraffe fooling around
Rolf CoppensThis is the peculiar image of the week, sorry Koert ; ) Excuse my crap quality.
Robotic Red Snapper
Koert van MensvoortJust because you're feeling paranoid, doesn't mean the fish aren't actually spying on you. Engineers at the University of Kitakyushu created an underwater survey robot that looks …
Smart Forests - EWAN
Arnoud van den HeuvelAt Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Christopher Love and colleagues are working to find out whether energy from trees can be used to prevent forest fires. A sensor system …
A hermit crab in a glass house
Koert van MensvoortNever thought I would ever empathize with a hermit crab. But somehow the 'situation' the creature is in, provides me with a feeling of recognition. According to this video marine …
A More Realistic Zoo
Koert van MensvoortGoing to the zoo is a favorite summer past-time. Visitors to the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna will see lots of animals in recreated ‘natural’ habitats. Except this summer, along with …
Animal Sweater
Rolf CoppensNature used to be an unpredictable place of mystery. Fascinated with nature’s untamed wildness, artists created animal and floral patterns as a celebration of this phenomenon of …
Bionic Pinguins
Tijn KooijmansFesto Bionic Learning Lab demonstrates their new technologies inspired by nature. Another step towards artificial pets replacing extincted animals, or just an exposé of scientific …
Flu Collector
Koert van MensvoortRather than trying to delay or avoid a flue infection, why not plan it? The INFLU flu collector mask helps you to get sick when you want to. The INFLU mask is outfitted with a …
Re-visualizing Molecular Science
Koert van MensvoortI vividly remember being offended throughout my high-school education because 'atoms' where consistently presented as these perfect slick round little spheres. At one time I even …
Everyday...
Koert van Mensvoort... a new McDonalds opens somewhere in the world. Via RebelArt , via Ekosystem . Related: post-apocalyptic religious artefact , hamburger sneaker , Image consumption .
Bird + Subwoofer
Michael KluverThe Bell Isle Zoo is one of the examples of the decay of the once great city of Detroit. Situated on an island in the Fleming Channel, the zoo was shut down years ago because of …
Crops Running Wild
Minke KampmanOnly for the title already I wanted to post this as soon as I read it on Nature.com. The newsarticle is entitled " GM crop escapes into the American wild ." Brilliant! Let's walk …
Fake blood cells deliver medicines
Koert van MensvoortNewly 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 …
LED Religion
Koert van MensvoortThe Catholic Church is not exactly renowned for its progressive attitude towards technological progress. Just think of the belligerent attitude the Church still has towards …
Mirror Neurons – Simulation at the basis of Human Civilization
Koert van MensvoortWithin our society, imitation and simulation are typically seen as inferior symbols of a distorted mediated culture – think of fake Rolexes, plastic Christmas trees, silicone …
Monitoring your computer's activity like a frog pond
Koert van MensvoortMulti-touch designer and developer Richard Monson-Haefel considers sound as an important part of our user interfaces. As an application of " Calm Technology " which revolves …
Revisiting Jurassic Park
Billy SchonenbergWhen searching for Next Nature in the world around us, one does not necessarily have to look at the present. The science fiction novel Jurassic Park, written in 1990 by the …
The Human Construction of Gay Animal Culture
Allison GuyMuch attention has recently been devoted to 'gay' animals. It's not the fact that many species have enthusiastic homosexual lives that should be surprising – there are convincing …
Transgenic Stingrays for Fashionable Feet
Allison GuyRayfish Footwear, a company based in Thailand, has recently produced what may be the world's first genetically modified stingray. This ray exhibits an unusual, colorful pattern …
Wild bikes
sebastiaanBikes seem to be a new life form. They are everywhere in the city. On the street, in bike parking, but also just as plentiful on the bottom of channels, on top of street lanterns …
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 …
Allergen Beagle – A Home Foodscanner
Koert van MensvoortNo shellfish, no peanuts, no soy, no milk, no eggs. An increasing number of people suffer from various food allergies, which force them to constantly scan food packages for …
Apes Like Cooked Food, and What that Means for Human Evolution
Allison GuyHumans are the only species on earth that cooks its food. Not only do we cook our food, but we usually find the flavor of cooked foods preferable to the raw version. Compare the …
Babel Fish
SelbyResearchers are working on a language and a device that will help humans and dolphins talk with each other. Denise Herzing , a researcher and founder of the Wild Dolphin Project …
Biomodd at work
Minke KampmanModding is the act of adapting hardware/software to have it do what you want it to do, which does not always correlate with what it is originally built to do. Biomodd (ding) is …
Black Wolves Have Dogs to Thank
Allison GuyBlack wolves should probably not exist. The same species as their gray relatives, these wolves have a genetic mutation that causes them to produces excess melanin, a pigment …
Blue, Belgian and Beefy
Allison GuyThe Belgian Blue is a unique cattle breed that was developed quite accidentally in the late 1800s. An chance mutation lead the cattle to develop 'double muscling,' which occurs …
Cheiracanthium drives a Mazda
Allison GuyIn March, Mazda recalled 65,000 cars, not because of any structural faults in the vehicle, but because the engineers had inadvertently created the perfect habitat for a tiny …
Living Life Support
Allison GuyDesigner Revital Cohen imagines a future where life-support machines are replaced with life-support animals. In this scenario, a transgenic lamb is allowed to frolic in the fields …
Monsanto's Technorhetoric Kills Corn
Allison GuyMega-agro-biotech corporation Monsanto recently denied that insects have developed resistance to their patented Bt corn . Injected with a bacterial gene toxic to corn rootworms, …
Nano Product: Pharmaceutical Sushi
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkAre we creating the penicillin or the asbestos of the 21st century? Prior to the arrival of the Nano Supermarket , we share some speculative nanotech products with you. Here’s the …
Nintendo Portables Are Breeding Grounds For Sexy Fun
Vincent KlerkxSexuality and sensuality are phenomena which have been a nature for us as long as we humans exist. Not only humans experience these phenomena; also animals experience sexuality …
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 …
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 …
Who Watches the Watchers?
Allison GuyIn The Watchers , the creative geniuses at Studio Smack picture a world where surveillance systems don't just watch us - they actively judge. Are you a green-coded Conformist or …
Army Protected Organic Foods
Simone KochOver 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 …
Does Chocolate Milk Come From Brown Cows?
Gillis van de ZandeAlthough chocolate milk producing cows may sound silly, scientists are seriously analyzing the feasibility of the idea. Why not add genes of cocoa and sugar to a cow, in order to create a cow that produces sweet chocolate milk?
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.
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 …
One Generation in, Dolphins Still Transmit Human Tricks
Allison GuyDolphins in Port Adelaide, Australia, have been observed performing a remarkable trick : tail-walking, a trait so rare it has only been seen in the wild one other time. More …
Rayfish CEO Responds to Break-In by Animal Rights Activists
Koert van MensvoortRayfish CEO Raymond Ong recorded a video response in which he analyzes the controversy around his genetically engineered stingray leather sneaker. Highly recommended for nextnature connoisseurs.
Sand Engine Reinforces Dutch Coastline
Koert van MensvoortNow here is an hands-on example of ‘guided growth‘ as a way to steer complex systems.
The Action Plant Runs Away from Your Touch
Allison GuyPlants have it tough. They're tasty, silent, and stuck to the spot. With Jurema Action Plant, artist Ivan Henriques has given plants the mobility they deserve . Henriques' pieces …
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 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...
App Brings Big Data to Birdwatching
Allison GuyThe eBird app is bringing big data to bird spotting.
CAMOVER: Destroy All CCTV Cameras!
Silvia CelibertiEarn points in an online game by destroying real-life CCTVs.
Engineering Beneficial Parasites
Lloyd AlbertsBreeding parasites to improve immune function, skin tone and even resistance to poison.
The Bottom-Up Bitcoin Revolution
Silvia CelibertiIn a recent feel-good article, WIRED wrote about a special group of homeless friends in Florida who, equipped with laptops, phones and free WiFi, manage to make ends meet making …
Wild Ones
Koert van MensvoortTypically when we look at nature we exclude ourselves. Finally there is a book looking at people looking at animals.
World's First In Vitro Hamburger Arrives
Allison GuyBreak out the ketchup: Mark Post has grown the world's first entirely artificial burger from cultured beef cells.
You Can Never Go Back To Nature
Annalee NewitzOne of the arguments that environmentalists use against factory farming and burning fossil fuels is that these activities are "unnatural" or that they "go against nature." But …
DIY Wire Networks In India
Robin BergmanIndian fragile DIY electronic infrastructure gives an insight into our complex electronic wire systems.
Drones Could Be the Next Dog Sitters
Alessia AndreottiA drone take a dog out for a walk, guiding and monitoring the pet.
Floating Underwater Self-Sufficient City
Francesca BarchiesiAsian architects of AT Design Office want to build an incredible floating underwater metropolis that is also self-sufficient.
How modern sanitation gave us polio
Allison GuyFor most of history, poliomyelitis was a relatively unremarkable disease – it caused paralysis and occasionally death, but only in a tiny fraction of those infected. It was …
Robot Cheetah Now Runs Free
Alessia AndreottiResearchers created a robo-feline able to run and bound while completely untethered.
Shark Deterrent Wetsuits
Lotte BiesheuvelA new way to project yourself against sharks while enjoying your favorite watersport!
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.
Transportations Of The Future
Francesca BarchiesiA selection of nine enthralling and striking concepts of future way of transportation.
AI is as Intelligent as a Four-Year-Old Kid
Erik van der VeenComputer can already beat us in many tasks. Complicated calculation, processing speed and chess, to name a few. However, generally speaking, you’re still likely to be more …
Communicating with City Infrastructures
Yunus Emre DuyarA recent project, named GENESI, might make it possible for city infrastructures to communicate with us.
Drone Operated by Honeybee Brain
Yunus Emre DuyarThe Green Brain Project aims to create drones that will think, act and sense like a bee.
Using Drones to Fight Deforestation
Margherita OlivoBritish company BioCarbon Engineering developed a new ingenious way to exploit drones: reforestation.
Flights Delayed Due to iPad Crash
Yunus Emre DuyarDozens of American Airlines flights were grounded as pliots' iPads crashed.
Genetic Modification Could Prevent TB
Yunus Emre DuyarIt was announced this week that genetic modification allowed scientists to produce cattle resistant to tuberculosis.
Genome Editing - Bringing the Übermensch to a Shelf Near You
Daniel FragaLast April, a Chinese group of researchers published a paper that set the scientific world ablaze in a fierce debate. The paper was about their attempts to edit the DNA of a human …
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.
Jazz-Playing Robot Challenges Human-Computer Interactions
Margherita OlivoA musical robot able to improvise a jazz solo in response to an actual person performing jazz.
Local Deliveries: Robots or Drones?
Margherita OlivoStarship, a robot that will remodel our local deliveries system.
Should We Fear Thinking Machines?
Maria RamosIt seems thinking machines could put the human race in danger. How realistic these fears are?
Which Technologies will 2016 Bring?
Wei Lun WangThe new year is right around the corner, let’s forget about long-term future for a while to check out what new tech trends will hit it big in 2016. At the end of every year, …
Wasps Inspire Robotic Needle for Surgery
Daniel FragaThe Wood-Boring Wasp inspired scientists to create a new robotic needle which will be used in brain surgery.
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.
Bio-Printer Creates Living Body Parts
Margherita OlivoBioprinter creates bespoke lab-grown body parts for transplant.
The First Beauty Contest Judged by AI
Ruben BaartThe first beauty contest judged by complex algorithms has sparked controversy after biased results.
Cars Are Ready to Recognize Us
Alejandro AlvarezWe already recognize faces in our cars, now it is time for our cars to recognize our faces.
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.
I Want Wings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nicholas CarrRead Nicholas Carr's essay on the transhumanist dream of having wings.
Lost in the Forest? The Drones Will Find You
Daniel FragaResearchers are teaching drones to recognize and follow forest trails.
KaraokeBot Sings Christmas Carols
NextNature.netThe KaraokeBot is an AI system that generates and sings Christmas songs from the visual components of an uploaded image.
Meet Biomimic Alyssa Stark
Daniel FragaUsing biology as a model for innovation and progress, Alyssa Stark embodies the essence of Biomimicry.
Nature-Inspired Nano-Robots
Ingmar NieuweboerResearchers developed tiny, autonomous robots able to repair circuits.
Shark Drones Clean up the Port of Rotterdam
Mathilde NakkenIn the port of Rotterdam you might be able to cross a floating Waste Shark: a robot able to collect up to 500 kilos of trash.
Payment by Thumb
Alessia AndreottiAustralian biohacker Meow-Ludo Meow Meow implanted a chip in his thumb to make contactless payments.
Pigs Have a Heart for Us
Elise MarcusReplacing your old heart with a new heart from an animal may seem extreme? Well, this future may arrive sooner than we think.
Plastic Cup Fields Are Not Forever
Koert van MensvoortExploring ECO coin opportunities at Lowlands Festival. One coin for every plastic cup! A perfect local community to prototype the concept.
Time Is a Universal Currency
Lewis JustThe principle behind a time based currency is usually very simple: one hour of work equals a unit of time.
AI Defeats Human at Go
Ruben BaartGo world champion Ke Jie has lost two games of 'Go' against Google's DeepMind AI system AlphaGo.
AI Draws New Worlds from Its Artificial Memory
Siebren de VosAn AI draws streets and spaces stitching together its artificial memories of real places.
Facial Recognition Replaces Passports
Ruben BaartBiometric technology replaces passports in Australian airports.
DNA Hacking: Catch a Computer Virus
Jack CaulfieldWe know how it feels to catch a cold; how might it feel to catch malware?
Climate Change Turns Leaves into Junk Food
Julie ReindlClimate change turns rainforest leaves into junk food.
Tap Your Milk from a Cow Around the Corner
Ruben BaartTurning cows into walking vending machines for milk.
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.
1955 - Artificial Womb Drawing Patented
Elle Zhan WeiIn 1955 Emanuel M. Greenberg patented his Illustration of an artificial womb, his invention contains all the apparatus he thought would be required to grow a baby.
How to Fool a Neural Network
Jack CaulfieldA neural network helps computers with image recognition. It is usually tough to fool. But one group of researchers has found a way to reliably trick it.
The Global Subway Map of the Future
Ruben BaartThe Hyperloop will turn the world into a global village.
Interview: Lining Yao, Interaction Designer and Maker of Novel Materials
Alessia AndreottiWe recently interviewed Lining Yao, Chinese interaction designer who uses organic materials as a technology that brings us back to nature.
Old Cows and New Ideas
Lewis JustWill cows still graze fields in an in vitro future? And what might we do with these animals when they naturally die?
Plants + Science = Meat!
Daniel FragaWhat if you could have the taste of a juicy, sizzling burger without the destructive impact of using animals for meat? That is what Impossible Foods wants to do with its new burger.
Skyscraper Hanging from the Sky
Elle Zhan WeiWhat if we rethink the system and instead of building from earth to sky, we do it the other way around?
Adding a new dimension to marine restoration: 3D printing coral reefs
David KlingesThe local fishermen looked on skeptically. From the deck of a small motorboat, scuba divers grabbed odd chunks of ceramic – which could be described as rocky brains stuck on …
Turning surplus bread into craft beer
Meike SchipperGlobally, humans produce enough food to feed 10 billion people (we are only 7 billion now) yet somehow we waste a third of this. Food waste is one of the biggest climate …
Getting rid of that bit of unspoiled green
Sanne vander BeekThere it is. A hefty hen, with its head up high and its beak out. And a gigantic VR headset over its beady little eyes. What does this battery hen see? ‘An experience of a free …
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 …
Brain-assisted driving: Mind-control your car
Charlotte KuijpersBefore fully autonomous cars take over our streets, we may experience a transition phase: Fasten your seatbelts, as Nissan introduced a so-called Brain to Vehicle (B2V) system to …
This startup uses body heat to mine crypto
Camille CharluetWhile many love to speculate about the sheer number of jobs that robots and artificial intelligence are going to replace in the near future, no one seems to be coming up with any …
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 …
How AI is reshaping electronic music
Linda ValentaThe idea that AI can compose electronic music may sound a little off to people. It raises essential questions about creativity as a product exclusive to humans: can an AI be …
A path to humane technology
Koert van MensvoortIn 1486, six years before Columbus dropped anchor in the New World, the 23-year-old Italian nobleman Giovanni Pico della Mirandola penned a passionate discourse on the unique …
Five ways AI could make your car as smart as a human passenger
Max EizaDriving long distances without a passenger can be lonely. If you’ve ever done it, you might have wished for a companion to talk to – someone emotionally intelligent who can …
Her is an outlook on the possible future of dating a chatbot
Ruben BaartWith most of us stuck at home because of lockdown, for the singles around us intimacy may have turned into a distant dream. Could we find our salvation in technology? And what …
POND is 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 …
Embracing the Future with Patricia Piccinini
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, …
Next Generation: illustrating the remains of the anthropocene with Louise Silfversparre
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
Why superhuman technologies will affect us all
Ruben BaartWhen 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 …
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 …
Next Generation: Moving towards the plastic human with Max Ahluwalia
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
COVID-19 is a virus, corona is a meme
Ruben BaartAs 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. …
Exploring the society of trees
Tracy MetzIn conversation with Canadian researcher Suzanne Simard, inventor of the Wood Wide Web.
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.
Fish-inspired soft robot takes a deep dive
Dimitris TsakirisThe deepest regions of the oceans still remain one of the least explored areas on Earth, despite their considerable scientific interest and the richness of lifeforms inhabiting …
Join us at the DDW Talks: Next Biodiversity
Next Nature DevThe 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 …
Mojo Visions augmented reality contact lenses kick off a race to AR on your eye
Ruben BaartThe digital world has been creeping closer to your face. Was a time when a laptop was about as personal as you got with a computer. Then came smartphones, and a few years later, …
How plastic waste is hurting women in developing countries
Kutoma WakunumaIf we are to build a greener, fairer and more equal society in the wake of COVID-19, it’s time for rich countries to end their practice of dumping plastic waste in developing …
Screen mutations and reframing perspectives with Louisa Zahareas
Ruben BaartIn the digital era of a globalized world, our screens have become a second set of eyes. Communication has advanced leaps and bounds, to a point where we cannot imagine a world …
Turn your garden into living artworks for bees
Kelly van GemertArt not for people, but for insects. That is the goal of the Pollinator Pathway project by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg. With her concept she wants to change the way we perceive our …
Discovering AI generated species
Marit BeerseSofia Crespo and Feileacan McCormick have made an AI-generated endangered species installation on Times Square.
Next Generation: (Un)learning Time By Light with Valentine Maurice
Kelly van GemertThis 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 …
Why we need space janitors
Kelly van GemertReduce, reuse, recycle. We know the drill. But how do we cope with a junkyard in space?
We now have satellite traffic jams in space
Kelly van GemertIt seems that traffic jams aren't just a problem confined to Earth's highways and byways. How did this happen? And should we be concerned?
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.
Furniture futures
Nellie FriedrichWondering how next natural furniture may change your way of life? Will we feed our lamps? Grow chairs? Talk with our tables?
Geodesign
Nellie FriedrichWe have identified eight key defining moments that tell the story of geodesign, from ancient insight to artificial intelligence.
The Museum of Edible Earth
Kelly van GemertWe spoke with the Museum of Edible Earth, a travelling museum dedicated to the prosperous amount of soil samples.
Next Senses
Ruben BaartNext Senses explores the unchartered territory of how we could experience the world with technology
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.
Building the farm of tomorrow
Kelly van GemertSeven examples of how design will help us built the farm of tomorrow.
Potatoes from Mars
Ruben BaartIt might sound like the title of a bad horror movie. But cultivating potatoes in space may soon be more than just fiction. Scientists and biologists are currently using simulated Mars and moon soil to experiment with space farming. One of them is space farmer Wieger Wamelink.
Enter Spa Sybarite: the luxury wellness center of our dreams and nightmares
Kelly van GemertIn conversation with film director Joshua Ashish Dawson about the future of wellness, climate anxiety and healthy cynicism India-born, Los Angeles-based film director Joshua …
Interruptions
Rolf CoppensEvery ecology needs balance. So that's also true for the ecology of the office. The office is a ecology that is highly regulated: temperature, light, humidity, distance to other …
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
Koert van Mensvoortby Richard Brautigan (1968) I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammels and computers live together in mutually programming harmony like pure …
Babybunny - stuffed pets as toys
Koert van MensvoortNowadays, young children are so used to the omnipresence of disposable toys. When their parents buy them a living pet animal they are unable to take care of it. Hamster tend to …
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 …
NOT (Natural) AND NOT (mechanical) = human
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkEric Hoffer (1902-1983) You dehumanize a man as much by returning him to nature - by making him one with rocks, vegetation, and animals - as by turning him into a machine. Both …
Pimp my heart
Rolf CoppensThe machine and the experience of the machine are becoming one. I've seen these kind of things in computer games, but now they are becoming real— Feels like plugging in to the …
Robotic Action Painter
Rolf CoppensRAP is a new generation of painting robots designed for Museum or long exhibition displays. It is completely autonomous and need very little assistance and maintenance. RAP …
Robotic Mule
Rolf CoppensDesigned for army uses, the Robotic mule is build for walking and carrying heavy loads through rough terrain. It also has balancing systems that keep it running when you try to …
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, …
Scientists want to create human-cow hybrid
Koert van MensvoortScientists in the UK applied for permission to create part-cow, part-human embryos for research aimed at treating diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The embryos created …
What to do with your cat?
Dr NaturalOur relation with the animals we consume is very remote nowadays. The meat in the supermarket is abstract and square. You might consider a vegetarian life style. No? Then you …
Withus Oragainstus
Rolf CoppensJust read this article on Darpa 's work on using bugs for war effort . They are planning to make a kind of insect cyborg to use in the army. The Defense Advanced Research Projects …
Avatar machine
Rolf CoppensThe virtual communities created by online games have provided us with a new medium for social interaction and communication. Avatar Machine is a system which replicates the …
Botanicalls: The Plants have your Number
Koert van MensvoortBotanicalls is a system that allows plants to call their owner when they need more (or less) sunlight or water. It works by placing moisture and light sensors in plants and then …
Brain-computer interface for Second Life
Dr NaturalWhile recent developments in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology have given humans the power to mentally control computers, nobody has used the technology in conjunction …
Cockroach Controlled Mobile Robot
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkBy putting this cockroach in control over a mobile robot, our perception of the animal is changed. Technology empowers the little creature you would normally squash under your …
Edible RFID tags
Dr NaturalInventors keep coming up with new ways to exploit RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags. Now Kodak wants to use them to probe a person's digestive system. RFID tags are tiny …
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 …
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: Walking Leaf
Koert van MensvoortAlmost by default, we associate simulation with modern media: games and virtual reality. But what about the Phyllium giganteum ? It is not a leaf but an insect disguised as one. …
Funky Forest
Arnoud van den HeuvelI am a tree and I need water! Dance with me! Guide the river! Together with designer Emily Gobeille , Theodore Watson created the Funky Forest , an interactive ecosystem where …
Pleo - the resurrected robot dino
Koert van MensvoortEver since Rosie from 'The Jetsons,' robots have been the next big thing, but the business case was never there. So far, companion robots have been a big flop in the market , but …
Robotarium - Zoo for Artificial Life
Koert van MensvoortRobotarium X , the first zoo for artificial life, approaches robots very much in the way as we are used to look at life in old nature. We, humans, enjoy watching and studying …
Spiders on Drugs
Dr NaturalIn the 1960s, Dr. Peter Witt gave drugs to spiders and observed their effects on web building. Meet the cocaine, LSD, and the crack spider. Corny Alert!
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 …
Feelings Translated to Plants
Koert van MensvoortAmbient Biomedia is an investigative project about using living beings, in particular plants, to display human lifestyle problems information. The working principle of our systems …
Back to Nature?
Koert van MensvoortNow this is how you do it. First you take the meat of a hundred animals; chickens (19%), turkeys (17%). Secondly, you blend them in a large tank with water, mais, wheat, oil, fat, …
Bacteria That Eat Waste & Shit Petrol
Koert van MensvoortEnergy problem? Why not genetically alter bacteria to have them provide 'renewable petroleum'. Crude oil is only a few molecular stages removed from the acids normally excreted by …
Catch and eat fishing by phone
Dr NaturalFor mobile gamers in western Japan, a hearty seafood dinner awaits just a few key clicks away, thanks to a unique new cellphone fishing game that rewards successful players with …
Rotating Skyscraper
Koert van MensvoortRemember the wind shaped pavilion ? In Dubai they do it bigger. Architect David Fisher designed a skyscraper that rotates by wind power. Each floor rotates independently at …
Economy is ecology
Koert van MensvoortNature is itself a free market system. A rain forest is an unplanned economy, as is a coral reef. The difference between an economy that sorts the information and energy in …
Eethapnl
Arnoud van den HeuvelPeculiar image created by Matías Lecaros (Santiago, Chile), promoting that famous boardgame . Inspired -of course- by Damien Hirsts Some Comfort Gained from the Acceptance of the …
Fake for Real
Koert van MensvoortFakeness has long been associated with inferiority. Fake Rolexes that break in two weeks, plastic Christmas trees, leaky silicone breasts that cause cancer, imitation caviar. Even …
iDog
Dr NaturalOr you could get an iDog. This electronic animal with musical sensibilities. It sits on your desk and sings along with the music you are playing. Dog haters don't need to worry; …
It is Nature... but not as we know it
Dr NaturalNo, this isn't the newest picture of some star system or nebula taken by Hubble telescope in deep space. This is a map of the internet. It might not be of much use since it is …
Next Nature lecture at Lift Conference
Lecture this Friday on Next Nature by Mieke Gerritzen at Lift conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Expect wild trees, wild beaches, wild animals, wild implants and wild corporations.
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 …
Next Rabbit
SaraThis is not a 3-D-animation of a fictional creature, but an actual existing animal: the Angora Rabbit.
Old nature compared
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe comparison graphics are a bit dull after a while, but I think this video illustrates how people deal with the forces of Next Nature; If we want to understand why managers, …
Puppy Bag
Koert van MensvoortWherever you go, always carry your puppy with you. In the category 'absurd-products-that-show-our-consumptive-attitude-towards-animals'. Buy one here , or here . See also: Catbag …
Remote pets
Arnoud van den HeuvelHumans have domesticated animals for thousands of years. The earliest known evidence of a domesticated dog is a jawbone found in a cave in Iraq and dated to about 12,000 years ago …
Scientists Extract Images Directly from Brain
Arnoud van den Heuvel(Extracted directly from Pink Tentacle , thanks!): Researchers from Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories have developed new brain analysis technology that can …
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 …
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 Order Electrus
Koert van Mensvoort"Nature adapts, even to human actions that seem to destroy everything. The amazing power of evolution has given birth to a new species of insect. Their ideal habitats are old …
Untitled Sound Objects
Jan van der AsdonkPe Lang and Zimoun have created a range of sound objects, also referred to as the Untitled Sound Objects . These sound objects are mainly triggered by simple vibration motors, …
Want privacy? Use pigeon messaging
Koert van MensvoortOur society seems to be driven by an obsession of gathering personal data. Yes, they say it is for your own good, so we willingly collaborate by filling in our most intimate …
A Future Love Story
By MARCEL VAN DER DRIFT. Ten years from now, a cell phone gently sinks to the bottom of the river. It's one of the latest models. The clever design, trendy colours and nifty …
Bacteria that Turn CO2 into Energy
Koert van MensvoortWe’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 …
China limits use of 'virtual' currencies
Dr NaturalBy DAVID BARBOZA SHANGHAI — China made public on Tuesday regulations aimed at cracking down on the use of virtual currencies amid worries that a huge underground economy was …
Colalife
Rolf CoppensCoca-Cola© succeeds in what most NGO's try to achieve: getting the goods to the poor in the 3rd world Africa. For most people there, a Coke is easier to get and cheaper than a …
Computer versus bacteria
ReneeAre 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 …
Corporate animal wallpaper (in real life)
Koert van MensvoortStudents of the Next Nature Theme at TU/e Industrial design in Eindhoven decided to jungle-up their working environment a bit with the corporate animal wallpaper. Hand painted (!) …
Credit on Color – Rainbow of Credit Cards
Koert van MensvoortRegular readers of this website know we are keen to speculate that our global financial system is best perceived as an ecology, which although originally constructed by man, has …
Do It Yourself Pet
sijmeImage: A. Sidorov Have you ever fantasized about creatures which carry the biggest smile? Or creatures which are so deeply covered with fur that you wish they were real? Good …
DrinkPeeDrinkPeeDrinkPee
Arnoud van den HeuvelDrinkpeedrinkpeedrinkpee is a project by Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray about the role our bodies play in larger ecosystems. It's an installation about the Urine to Fertilzer DIY …
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 …
Green Glowing Monkeys
Arnoud van den HeuvelJapanese researchers of the Central Institute for Experimental Animals , took a green fluorescent protein gene of a jellyfish, wove it into the DNA of a few marmosets embryos, …
Google Ads talk back!
Hendrik-Jan Grievink‘Advertising is the cave art of the 20th century’, Marshall McLuhan said. Advertisings are mythical depictions of hunting and gathering rituals, that don’t take place on some …
How do Bacteria Communicate?
Arnoud van den HeuvelSo here we are; bragging about our discoveries and great new ways of living... meanwhile we tend to forget that we are NOT the dominant species on the surface of the earth. …
How to print a building
Koert van MensvoortIn the nineties laser printers revolutionized graphic design. Currently 3d desktop printers are revolutionizing industrial design. Next we will be printing buildings and …
Implantable Silicon-Silk Electronics
Koert van MensvoortScientists of the University of Pennsylvania are creating electronics that almost completely dissolve inside the body, through the use of thin, flexible silicon electronics on …
Lost on the Freeway?
Koert van MensvoortAn advertisement campaign for MIO GPS systems. Via Scene 360 . Related: Observing Next Nature , Waves of Asphalt , Magic Highway USA , Interchange , Exploding City .
Plastic Birds
Koert van MensvoortBird 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 …
Pollution trading – savior or scam?
Koert van MensvoortWhile most people are still prudently changing light bulbs and recycling coffee cups to fight global warming – or at least their gnawing conscience – policy-makers have long moved …
Scientists 'grow' pork
SelbyScientists at the Eindhoven University of Technology are creating artificial pork. Prof. Dr Mark Post and his colleagues of the department of Biomedical Engineering have extracted …
Tangible hologram projector
Koert van MensvoortUsing ultrasound technology, researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a holographic projector that displays three-dimensional virtual objects you can feel with your …
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 …
World Map Zodiac
Arnoud van den HeuvelKentaro Nagai rearranges the world map to create a series of illustrations he calls: "Twelve Animals". Via: PinkTentacle | Related: World Cow | World Mapper |
As smart as mice.
JurrianWhen you think of solving mazes, you think of mice. Mice have been use to do science for ages. In turns out that mice are not the only beings that can solve a maze. In fact you …
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 …
Constellation
Koert van MensvoortNo this is not some stellar system far away. What is it then? Lets make another picture, this time with the flashlight on... ...and we learn the small universe is comprised by LED …
Debugged: 'Graphic Design Bugs'
Michael KluverThe Eindhoven-based design team ' Edhv ' made an installation to turn creepy crawlers into genuine graphic designers. By letting crickets, woodlice, ants and many other insects …
ECO Currency – Explanation Video
Koert van MensvoortEarlier we have discussed the ECO currency , now here is an explanation video. The ECO currency is an alternative currency to express environmental value. People who conduct labor …
Geminoid Female
Arnoud van den HeuvelProfessor Hiroshi Ishiguro ( Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaska University) has done it again! This time in coöperation with robot-maker Kokoro Co. Ltd . Objective: to …
HP Computers are Racist
Koert van MensvoortThese two co-workers found out the face tracking feature of the utterly advanced HP webcam will not recognize or track black faces. Hewlett Packard says it's because the program …
Nanoparticles in Sunscreen Damage Microbes
Koert van MensvoortNanotechnology has been hailed for its benefits because of the potential ability to create drugs that could cure cancer and radiation poisoning, make miniature pollutant filters …
Next Nature Movie #7 – Grizzly Man
Koert van MensvoortThe sad story of Timothy Treadwell is the ultimate example of the drama a naive notion of nature can bring about. Grizzly Man (2005) opens with the facts surrounding Timothy …
Nomadic Plants
Koert van MensvoortNomadic Plants are a species assembled from a group of robotic-electronic-biological organisms living in symbiosis in order to survive in habitats affected by human activity. The …
Robosaurus eats Cars for Breakfast
Koert van MensvoortThe Robosaurus is the only airplane eating, fire breathing robot on the planet. Pity the thing is merely build for entertainment purposes. Perhaps this thing could finally solve …
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 …
Tin Hybridization
Koert van MensvoortArtist José E. Rivera takes pleasure in the sculpting of animals from electronic infrastructure. Same artist who created the evolving mouse . We are unsure what to conclude from …
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 …
11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design: Introduction
NextNature.netWelcome to the 11 part series The Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Product Design. In this series, we will be examining how designers can better integrate human-like forms or …
A Bug's Afterlife
Allison GuyWhen fruit flies die, they don't go to heaven, but they do get to go to outer space. At least that's the conceit of artist HsienYu Cheng's Collector: Afterlife , which zaps bugs …
A day made of glass
DesignDirkThis video shows the design vision of Corning, a company that specializes in glass. Not just any glass, but glass incorporating technology, electronics and displays. And it sure …
Birdfeeders spit Blackcaps in two species
Koert van MensvoortUntil 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 …
Blinky – Does what we want it to do
Sebastiaan WolzakIn the short movie Blinky, on a boy and his robot, director Ruari Robinson reflects on our daily dealings with technology and its risks. Alex is a child growing up in a family …
Brainscan App
Arnoud van den HeuvelBy hooking up a commercially available EEG headset to a Nokia N900 smartphone, Jakob Eg Larsen and colleagues at the Technical University of Denmark in Kongens Lyngby have created …
Bugged Bugs
Stefan FinckenSome of you might remember the Next Nature article by Rolf Coppens called Withus Oragainstus . Since then there have been occasional newsreports on cyborg insects. For instance …
City Living Splits Up Blackbirds
Allison GuySome blackbirds have found city living so much fun (the theater scene! the restaurants!) that they have given up migrating south for the winter. Cities are usually warmer than the …
E.Coli produced Spider Silk
Stefan FinckenIn a previous post we have reported on spider silk, it's applications and the way it is produced. Adding the gene responsible for the production of the spider silk protein to …
Entoforms
Bastiaan EkelerArtist Dolf Veenvliet ( Macouno ) is creating future fossil trilobites that have yet to exist. Using generative computer models, his Entoforms are not the result of millions of …
Fly Paper Clock
Koert van MensvoortBionic horror by designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau , who have created a clock that traps insects on flypaper before depositing them into a vat of bacteria. The resulting …
Inventing an Extinct Horse
Allison GuyAlong with the Heck cattle and Scottish Highlanders , another reconstructed species roams the Dutch dunes . The sturdy Konik horse , also known as the Polish primitive, is the …
Labradoodle
Koert van MensvoortIndulge in its cuteness. The Labradoodle brings us the finest blend between the labrador and the poodle. Combining sociability with beauty, they are the perfect human companion. …
![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, …
Monkey See, Monkey Buy
Allison GuyYale researchers and advertising executives have created the first ad campaign aimed at animals. The targets in question are a group of captive capuchin monkeys with a taste for …
(Nano)technology imitating Nature
Koen BeumerOver the coming years, nanotechnology will invade our everyday lives. Nanotechnology, usually defined as the control and manipulation of matter at the nanoscale, will be …
Next Nature Server Dementia
Over the last few days the Next Nature website has been suffering symptoms of dementia due to a hardware failure at our very fancy and luxurious web hosting provider Media Temple …
Occasionally Extinct and Virtually Alive
Allison GuyJapanese researchers are currently working on cloning a mammoth, and plan to produce a fluffy new prehistoric calf within four or five years . The bucardo, an extinct subspecies …
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 …
Spidergoats & Superskin
Stefan FinckenWhile 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 …
Sympathy for the Device
Robin PohlTweenbots are small robots that depend on the kindness of strangers. They are only able to move straight forward and do this constantly. Once they get stuck in a hole or at a …
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 …
Technology: The 7th Kingdom of Life
Koert van MensvoortKevin Kelly, Senior Maverick at Wired Magazine talks about the nature of technology and propose to define technology as the 7th Kingdom of Life.
The Institute for Digital Biology
Arnoud van den Heuvel" 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 …
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 …
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 …
Think Breast is Best? Try Udder
Allison GuyScientists in China have created transgenic cows that produce 'human' milk. The researchers boosted the fat content of the milk and added three types of proteins, unique to …
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 …
Using Pigeons as Protestors
Allison GuyArtist Jaroslav Kyša has invented a novel form of social protest . By scattering seed in front of targets in London, he can attract droves of pigeons that disrupt shoppers and …
Want Ketchup with those Flies?
Allison GuyIndustrial-scale in vitro meat may be a long way off, but for meat-lovers looking for a cheap, eco-friendly source of protein, there's no need to wait. We just have to swear off …
We Domesticated Ourselves
Allison GuyOur 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 …
White Blood Cell War/Game
SelbyBlood Wars is an art-science installation that will pit white blood cells from two different people against each other in a "tournament" that aims to see which person has the …
Would you care more if I was a Panda?
Erik SwaagstraA smart campaign by Ogilvy Paris for WNF shows that also the ‘non-cute’ animals need our help. via Fubiz
YouTube preserves unmediated Nature
Allison GuyOn Youtube, there's a whole sub-genera of safari videos that show, in gruesome detail, what exactly it means to live and die in Old Nature. The above film is a particularly …
'Alp' Turns Containers into Refrigerators
NextNature.netTransporting and displaying cold food is an incredibly wasteful and inefficient process. Current display refrigerators, like those that display meats or cheeses in supermarkets, …
Architect Aims to Build House From Plastic Waste
Koert van MensvoortInterpreting the plastics in the Earths ecosystem as building material rather than as waste.
Bacteria "R" Us
Rachel ArmstrongThere 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 …
Bioinspired Robojelly Can Swim Forever
JenniferScientists have developed a biomimetic robot that will be able to swim forever, since its artificial muscles are powered by water. And since Robojelly lives underwater, it will …
Broersen & Lukács – Mastering Bambi
Koert van MensvoortMedia artists Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács created a remake of the Disney classic Bambi from which they stripped all the inhabitants. The removal of the cuddly, …
Cigarettes: Bad for You, Good for Birds
Allison GuyBirds use whatever they can get their beaks on to build nests, including cigarette butts. Surprising new research from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México shows that …
Corn 2.0: Survival of the Cheapest
NextNature.netCongrats to Sean Serafini, the winner of our April Next Nature Spotter contest. While we received many images of fake nature , Sean's entry delves deeper into more diverse next …
Dan Barber on the Ultimate Fish Farm
Koert van MensvoortChef Dan Barber discusses a dilemma facing many chefs today: how to keep fish on the menu? With impeccable research and deadpan humor, he chronicles the discovery of a unique …
Dumpster Fish the Future of Farming
Allison GuyCities have seen guerilla gardens, rooftop honey production, and fire escape chicken coops. Now, urban farmers may be adding aquaculture to the mix. Headed by ex-banker …
Escaped Pet Birds Teach Wild Cockatoos how to Talk
Koert van MensvoortIn some parts of Australia it is no exception to hear voices when there are no people near. The voices are the chatter of wild cockatoos that where taught words and sentences from escaped domesticated cockatoos.
Free Range Robot Filters Out the Ocean's Plastic
Allison GuyWhale sharks are great at filtering; plastic needs to be filtered. For now, however, whale sharks only have an appetite for plankton. Industrial designer Elie Ahovi has jumped …
New Robot Turns Poo into Energy
Allison GuyThough disgusting, sewage is an abundant, nutrient-rich resource. Researchers at the University of West England have taken advantage of this fact by creating a robot that turns …
Painted by Robot
JackThe Senseless Drawing Robot is a painting robot that interprets nearby street and sidewalk traffic and turns it into sprays of pigment. The robot is turning chaos into order, and …
Replacing Synapses with a Single Switch
Allison GuyNeural synapses in the human brain are extraordinarily complex structures. Responsible for relaying information between neurons, chemical synapses govern the release of over 100 …
Sight – As Second Life becomes First Life
Koert van MensvoortSo you thought your live was already pretty much media-saturated? Indulge in the design fiction film Sight and you'll realize you ain't seen nothing yet.
"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 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 …
Why It's Time to Calm Down about "Invasive" GM GloFish
Allison GuyIs the neon green tetra GloFish soon to be the florescent, transgenic terror of America's waterways? The internet hype machine has repeated ad infinitum the Washington Post's …
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.
A Robot to Make Rats Depressed
Marco van BeersThe robot in the picture above chases and attacks the living rat rights besides it. The W-3, as the robot is named, is designed to make rats seriously depressed. In fact, this …
Building Grows Its Own Energy from an Algae-Farming Facade
Hanna ZoonAlgae panels make a German building completely energy independent.
Bye Bye Barbed Wire: Cow-Mounted GPS Will Enable "Virtual Fencing"
Allison GuyA device that remotely controls cattle's movements promises to transform the American landscape.
Delivery Drones Are Coming
Koert van MensvoortAmazon announces they want to use drones to deliver your order within a half hour at any location you choose.
EcoBot III: a Robot that Produces Energy Fueled by Organic Matter
Alessia AndreottiThere are robots that look like people, and then there are robots, like the Ecobot III, that look nothing like humans but have our same biological needs: they have to eat, digest …
Get Ready for the Arctic to Bloom
Allison GuyIn the warming Arctic, an area the size of the US is now covered in vegetation.
Interview: Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Designer and Synthetic Biology Expert
Alessia AndreottiAn interview with Daisy Ginsberg, artist and synthetic biologist.
Interview: Floris Kaayk, the Visionary Creative Mind Behind Human Birdwings
Alessia AndreottiFloris Kayak discusses online hoaxes and the future of technology.
Invasive Crab Restores Damaged Habitat
Allison GuyA strange set of coincidences turn an invasive species into a hero
La Surconsommation
Koert van MensvoortFor those who "eat meat, but don't like in-vitro meat, because it is so unnatural" . Please spend 5 min to watch this video and change your thinking. You were watching the …
Loyal Lamps that Follow You Like Pets
Alessia AndreottiTwo lights that behave like pets, acting and reacting like autonomous creatures.
Next Nature saves Old Nature
Koert van MensvoortConservation workers ask synthetic biologists to help them save the world's endangered creatures and habitats.
Q&A with CEO of In Vitro Meat Company "Modern Meadow"
Stephen PerryExcerpts from the Rebbit AMA with Andras Forgacs, founder of a company that manufactures in vitro meat.
Robots Cooperate to Save Coral Reefs
Alessia AndreottiRobots use swarm intelligence to rebuild coral reefs.
Space Farming for Astronauts
Alessia AndreottiSpace Farming: NASA plans to grow a vegetable garden 230 miles above the Earth.
Squirrels Are in Cities to Keep Us Sane
Allison GuyThe surprising reasons why squirrels are so abundant in city parks in the US.
Taste the Artificial Fish Rainbow
Allison GuyA gorgeously uncanny school of discus fish cluster in an aquarium, all of them captive breeds. Though there's nothing unusual about artificially selecting animals for flamboyant …
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.
The Holy Grail of Immortality
Casper JacobsInjecting mice with telomerase enables them to live 24% longer than the average mouse.
Toss the Brita: Bacteria Can Filter Antibiotics from Water
Fan ChenFilter and recover antibiotics from drinking water using only bacteria, water and sunlight.
Use a Touchscreen Without Touching it
Alessia AndreottiUltraHaptics is a system for creating haptic feedback in mid-air, offering new kind of interactions with our touchscreens.
'Victimless Shelter' Grown from Pig Cells
Allison GuyWhile Next Nature was busy dreaming up new in vitro meat (IVM) foods, the mad scientists of Terreform ONE in New York went ahead and designed an entire dwelling made of IVM pig cells.
Win the Next Nature iPad Appzine
NextNature.netThink you know your corporate animals? Show off your knowledge and win our Next Nature app!
With "Stealth Wear", Hide from Unmanned Drones in Style
Daniel van PaesschenTired your ugly duds? Sick of surveillance drones? Does Adam Harvey have the clothing for you!
A Next Nature Christmas Present
NextNature.netBuy the In Vitro Meat Cookbook with free worldwide shipping and gift-wrapping with the Corporate Animals paper included.
Ambulance Drone
Alessia AndreottiThe ambulance drone: an autonomously navigating mini aeroplane that can quickly deliver a defibrillator.
Brain Surgery For Goldfish
Alessia AndreottiThe tiny patient lying on the operating table is a goldfish.
Divine Nature
Alessia AndreottiPhotographer Holly Wilmeth seeks to capture the encounter between women and nature, symbolized into animal form.
Drone Diver's License? Get it Online!
Alessia AndreottiThe online course to get your drone driver’s license for civil use.
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.
In Vitro Recipe #3: Magic Meatballs
NextNature.netMagic meatballs playfully familiarize children with the concept of in vitro meat.
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.
Retro-Futuristic Drones
Alessia AndreottiIn 1925 futurists envisioned a sort of aerial civilization in the sky of New York City.
Robotic Furniture puts IKEA to Shame
Koert van MensvoortScience Fiction taught us to think of robots as human-like beings, yet the robots that actually make it into your home are more likely to look like furniture.
Salmon Cannon Shoots Fish Over Dams
Alessia AndreottiA cannon that sucks salmon up and “shoots” them out in a different body of water.
Super Computer Chips
Robin BergmanIndium gallium arsenide couldbe the material of the new super computer chips of the future.
Technology Costs Evolution
Alessia AndreottiProducing an iPhone in 1991 would have cost 3,56 million of dollars.
The Bionic Kangaroo
Alessia AndreottiThe BionicKangaroo technologically reproducesthe unique way a kangaroo moves.
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 Robotic 3D Printed Spider Dress
Alessia AndreottiThe Spider Dress is programmed to define and protect the personal space of the wearer.
Vertical Farms Growing In Giant Trees
Francesca BarchiesiUrban Skyfarm is a giant tree-shaped farm system for environmental improvement in food production and distribution.
Virtual Reality Headset for Chickens
Alessia AndreottiA virtual reality headset could give chickens the freedom to roam without the roaming.
What Bits Want
Kevin KellyDigital bits have lives. They work for us, but we totally ignore them. What do bits really want? Here are the life stories of four different bits.
What Will Life Be Like Inside A Computer?
John MesserlyMany scientists believe that we will soon be able to preserve our consciousness indefinitely. This could be done by copying and transferring these contents into a computer, or by piecemeal replacement with parts of the brain gradually replaced by hardware.
A Robot Scientist Could Cure Malaria
Yunus Emre DuyarAlthough there seems to be no effective drug in use to cure malaria, a scientist robot named Eve may have found a cure.
Analogue vs Digital: Drone Wars
NextNature.netThe use of armed drones has dramatically escalated in the war in Pakistan.
Analogue vs Digital: Never Lost with GPS
NextNature.netBefore global positioning systems, we all used maps. And they could be very annoying.
Analogue vs Digital: Self-Driving Cars
NextNature.netThe image on the left is a car, as we know them. It has a lot of digital technology in it already, but not nearly as much as the other one.
Anthropo-scene #8: Anthropocene Rabbit
ChristianWith cities covering growing area of land, we humans and our spaces build the new wilderness for animals and plants.
Artificial Brain Able to Perceive, Learn and Forget
Alexandra BremersScientists in Russia have taken a next step in the development of artificial intelligence by creating a "brain" that is able to educate itself.
Botox Makes it Harder to Feel Emotions
Alessia AndreottiStudies suggest that Botox impairs the ability to process the emotional content of language, limiting the quality of emotional experiences.
Caress of the Gaze
Koert van MensvoortDesigner Behnaz Farahi envisions an interactive 3D printed outfit that can detect and respond to the gaze of the other and respond accordingly with life-like behavior.
Computer Generated… Errrmm?
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThis image, generated by a computer, portrays a representation of what seems to be some kind of squirrel-meets-sea-lion-meets-slug-type of creature.
Drugs Testing with Artificial Organs
Yunus Emre DuyarResearchers are working on artificial organs-on-chips will be used for drug development.
Eventually, Drones Will Be Everywhere
Hessel HoogerhuisCity of Drones puts you in a first person view of a drone drifting through an abstract futuristic cityscape.
Experiencing Animal Vision Through Virtual Reality
Margherita OlivoEyes of the Animal is an interactive project that invites the public to an uncommon virtual reality setting conceived especially for experiences in actual forests, giving the opportunity to see the world as an insect would.
First Puppies Born by In Vitro Fertilization
Margherita OlivoThanks to the work of researchers at Cornell University (USA), for the first time a litter of puppies was born entirely from in vitro fertilization.
GM Pigs for Animal-to-Human Organ Transplant
Alessia AndreottiScientists have been trying to develop GM pigs that could be used to solve the shortage of organs for transplant patients.
Hacking And Controlling Cars Remotely
Robin BergmanTwo American hackers have been working on hacking cars to takeover full control of vehicles.
Harvard Creates Half-Man Cyborg Flesh
Yunus Emre DuyarBioengineers at Harvard University have created the first cyborg tissue.
High-Speed Driverless Taxi for the Sky
Abby QinAn innovative solution to a better way for transportation: a high-speed elevated Personal Rapid Transportation system.
Hunger Games for Robots
Yunus Emre DuyarHow would you feel if robots inherited ethical complications of existence?
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.
Possibilities for Drones in Performing Arts
Alexandra BremersJapanese fashion brand Buyma created this video with a wink, wherein drones play a crucial role.
Lab-Grown Shrimps Are Coming to Your Plate
Alessia AndreottiA startup called New Wave Foods is developing artificial shrimp meat in the laboratory.
Let Strangers Cheer You up on Twitter
Yunus Emre DuyarThere is now a new application that allows random people to cheer you up on Twitter.
Medical Microbots Used to Perform Biopsy
Hessel HoogerhuisWith recent successful experiments, we may see doctors switching from the single forceps to hordes of so-called microgrippers.
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.
Poem Passes the Turing Test
Yunus Emre DuyarZackary Scholl developed a program to produce a poem that passed the Turing Test.
Puppy Delivery Drones
Yunus Emre Duyar3 Million Dogs released a funny video, which shows puppies delivered by drones.
If a Robot Buys XTC on the Dark Web, Who is Responsible?
Alexandra BremersThe Random Darknet Shopper, with bitcoin to burn, has purchased counterfeit jeans, master keys, dodgy cigs and even a bag of ecstasy tablets. Who is legally liable?
Self-Driving Cars Practice Kids Recognition
Alexandra BremersThis year's Halloween, Google asked children from the neighborhood to come by in their spooky outfits and play around the self-driving cars.
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.
The Drone Circus
Alessia AndreottiThe first ever circus consisting entirely of drones is coming to Amsterdam. This fall the Amsterdam Arena will host a choreographed airshow using nothing but drones combined with …
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.
Every Wikipedia Article Leads to Philosophy
Alexandra BremersAccording to the Wikipedia page 'Wikipedia: Getting to Philosophy', more than 94% of all articles will eventually lead to the English article "Philosophy".
Wireless Controlled Mouse, the Animal!
Alessia AndreottiA remote-controlled LED chip can make a mouse walk in circles.
Your Cat Can Post on Instagram Now
Yunus Emre DuyarYour cat might be able to take photos and share them on Instagram by itself soon.
AI Teenage Girl Hit by Depression
Ruben BaartAn AI was intended to improve human-like experiences in regards to the company’s customer service chatbots, but has fallen into a suicidal depression instead.
Animal Fauxtography
Alejandro AlvarezFake photography, or fauxtography, has been around since the invention of cameras and nature is one of the most popular subjects of dishonest photographers.
Artificial Senses for Navigation
Ruben BaartA team of cyborgs and digital enthusiasts developed a wearable technology for the body that perceives a human sixth sense.
Who Are These Trolls Invading China?
Margherita OlivoChina's government fabricates about 488 Million social media posts every year as a strategy to distract from critics to the regime.
Bringing In Vitro Meat to the Market
Margherita OlivoMark Post is planning to bring lab-grown meat on the market shelves within five years at a reasonable price.
Cellphones Go Feral
Alejandro AlvarezAfter reports of Samsung phones causing serious damage, plane delays and even hospitalization, the company made a first recall. However, the new phones were still bursting into flames.
The Complex Networks of Our Planet
Margherita OlivoThis video by Nature explains the complexity of networks on our planet.
Dave Hakkens Wins the ECO Coin 2016
NextNature.netDave Hakkens wins the 2016 ECO coin Award for his incredible work on the Precious Plastic recycling machines.
Designed to Survive Our Roads
Ruben BaartA road safety campaign in the Australian state of Victoria exposed an educational, yet confronting picture to raise awareness to the vulnerable human body on the road.
Difficulty in Voting for Trump or Hillary?Elect an Artificial Intelligence for President
Koert van MensvoortWould you vote for an artificial intelligence to govern our society?
Disney Lights Up the Sky with 300 Drones
Mathilde NakkenDisney’s latest attraction? 300 drones flying in formation.
Drone Racing: Sports for the 21st Century
Daniel FragaDrone racing: a new sport, where competitors drive drones at a speed of 70 mph. They control the drone by distance, using video goggles.
Foster’s Prototype for a Droneport
Margherita OlivoNorman Foster's project for a Droneport that will give a valid, affordable alternative to reach and bring help to remote areas.
Harvesting Water from Thin Air
Margherita OlivoScientists in Harvard University have designed a new material inspired by organisms, such as cacti, that can effectively harvest water from thin air.
Insects are helping us develop the future of hearing aids
Rob MalkinThe 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 …
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.
Japan Is Ready to Pay Bills with Bitcoins
Alejandro AlvarezJapan is the first country to accept the bitcoins as payment method for basic services.
Legally Stealing $60Million of Cryptocurrency
Lewis JustAll it takes to steal $60million worth of cryptocurreny is to create a child DAO. Sounds too good to be true...
Computers Need Domestication
Alejandro AlvarezSoon we won’t program computers anymore, we’ll train them like dogs.
Explore Mars with NASA's VR Experience
Margherita OlivoExploring the surface of Mars at least 15 years before a human being in flesh and blood will be able to, this is the new ambitious idea of the people at NASA.
Medical Practice Aided by Robots
Ioana TomiciRobots in health care could lead to a doctorless hospital.
Meet the Firefighter Drone
NextNature.netMeet the firefighter drone, she is the best at extinguishing fires and keep every species safe!
A Mosquito Factory to Defeat Zika Virus
Margherita OlivoThere's a factory in China that produces mosquitos and their plan is to defeat the Zika virus.
The New Era of Tourism is Underwater
Margherita OlivoSleeping underwater has always been your dream? Thanks to an ambitious project it will be soon reality.
Pokemon Go and Virtual Property
Alejandro AlvarezWhat happens when someone places a virtual property on top of a physical one?
Racist Robots and Bloodthirsty Crowds
Daniel FragaIt took less than 24 hours for Twitter to corrupt an innocent AI bot and teach it morally repugnant things.
How Rare Is Virtual Gold?
Lewis JustPart one of a ten part series exploring the design of an invisible technology: money.
Re-introducing Extinct Species
Margherita OlivoExtinct European bisons are being reintroduced in parks. But what makes a national park?
Computer-Simulated Realistic Sounds
Daniel FragaResearchers at MIT have created a system that is able to simulate sounds that are so perfect that they can even fool human listeners.
Self-Driving Trucks Hit the Highways
Margherita OlivoA driverless convoy of trucks drove through Europe and safely arrived in Rotterdam yesterday.
The Movie Written by Artificial Intelligence
Margherita OlivoSunspring is a Sci-Fi short movie entrirely written by an artificial intelligence.
Talking Contact Lenses
Ruben BaartResearchers at University of Washington have introduced a new wireless communication method that allows small wearable devices to ‘talk’ to everyday devices.
A Temporary Tattoo That Heals
Monika KozubMoving tattoos from purely aesthetic crave to a healing method thanks to nanotechnology.
The Modular Body
NextNature.netThe Modular Body is an online science fiction story by Floris Kaayk about the creation of OSCAR, a living organism built from human cells.
Towards a Post-Animal Bioeconomy
Ruben BaartAs emerging biotechnologies are blurring the lines between synthetic food and natural food, who will regulate cellular agriculture?
1537 - Homunculus: the Semi-Human
Elle Zhan WeiIn 16th and 17th centuries, some medical theory believed that a miniature human body can be produced in a flask by an alchemist.
1996 - First Artificial Womb Experimented
Elle Zhan WeiIn 1996, Yoshinori Kuwabara at Juntendo University in Tokyo incubated a premature goat fetus by using extrauterine fetal incubation.
2015: Artificial Placenta Approaches
Elle Zhan WeiIn 2015, a group of scientists from the University of Michigan claimed to have made the world's first artificial placenta.
Architects, You Better Design Cars!
Alejandro AlvarezHyundai envisions a future where your smart home is your driverless car, and vice versa.
Visualize the Hidden World of Digital Networks
Nadine RoestenburgHave you ever wondered what the infosphere looks like? Dutch designer Richard Vijgen’s app Architecture of Radio is a field guide to the hidden world of digital networks.
Design Your Own Vegetables
Ruben BaartWith her project Future Food Formula, food designer Chloé Rutzerveld is looking for innovative methods to design vegetables.
Drones and Robots Co-Work in Solar Farms
Alessia AndreottiBladeRanger might have found the ultimate solution for solar panels cleaning putting drones and robots together at work.
Ecosexuality: Make the Biosphere Your Lover
Ruben BaartEcosexuality reconceptualizes our perspective on the biosphere by having consensual experiences with it.
A Fake City for Real Self-Driving Cars
Siebren de VosUber built a fake city called Almono to train self-driving cars. This town is full of fake houses, mannequins and chaotic intersections.
The Ephemeral Future of Internet Data
Nadine RoestenburgWhat the Internet would look like if all data were ephemeral?
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 …
In Conversation with Yoyo Yogasmana, Winner of the First ECO Coin Award
Ruben BaartRead our conversation with the ECO Coin Award Winner of 2015: Yoyo Yogasmana.
Intimate Technology S01E05: The Modular Body
NextNature.netThe body, like any technology, is made up of countless individual components. Yet, apart from dire medical emergency, have you ever thought about mixing and matching these …
Looking into the Artificial Eye
Elle Zhan WeiSensor specialists recently developed a sensor that mimics the mammalian eye.
Otra Nation: Make Walls Great Again
Elle Zhan WeiThis group of 14 designers, engineers, builders and architects make a proposal of a wall for Trump's ambitious project.
Pink GM Chicken Marks Anthropocene
Julie ReindlThe Pink Chicken Project suggests modifying chickens’ DNA in order to send a message about our Earth health.
Smartflower Solar Device
Elle Zhan WeiPOP is an all-in-one solar energy system that hold visible benefits for humans.
FarmVille Turns into Real-Life Agriculture
Julie ReindlA Japanese Start up brings Farmville back into real life by letting players grow physical food.
Your First AI Friend for Life
Elle Zhan WeiReplika is your friend for life. He is 100% AI chatbot that you “raise” by chatting with it.
Jobs for Facilitators - Robots at Work #3
Mathilde NakkenThis is post number three of our serie 'Robots at Work'. In this episode we present you five jobs for facilitators, the ones who love to work with technology.
From Shopping Center to Urban Farm
Alessia AndreottiRooftop farm takes over Israel’s oldest mall to grow thousands of organic vegetables.
Slaughterbots Video Depicts Killer Bots Nightmare
Koert van MensvoortThis seven-minute video, titled 'Slaughterbots', shows a future in which palm-sized autonomous drones commit untraceable massacres.
Bacteria Are the New Hard Drives
Daniel FragaDNA is the densest known storage medium in the universe - and Harvard University researchers have managed to use it to store GIFs inside bacteria.
The Story of Money: Gold
NextNature.netThe story of money, an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. This episode: gold.
The Story of Money: Livestock
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age - from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining.
The Story of Money: Shells
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. This episode: shells.
The Age of Rust
Koert van MensvoortMeet the incredible new species "Petramosaurus Cavator" and discover its impact on our planet.
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?
Virtual Baby Acts and Looks Impossibly Real
Charlotte KuijpersA rosy-cheeked kid learns her first words, cries when her babysitter leaves, smiles when she’s happy, but she’s not real. BabyX is an AI research-in-progress by a company named Soul Machines.
Visit the Techno Favela
NextNature.netDiscover the Next Nature Habitat VR and explore four future environments we might live in someday.
The City as Technology in Tokyo
NextNature.netAre cities in their current form really the future of the human habitat? What is a next nature version of the city and how would it look like? In line with this perspective, NNN designer Hendrik-Jan Grievink led two workshops in Tokyo.
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 …
How AI could revolutionize the teaching profession
Jack CaulfieldIn various parts of the world, access to education is, or risks becoming, a huge crisis. UNESCO estimates that around 20 million new teachers are needed worldwide - and that's not …
AR City: Paving the Way for Augmented Reality Navigation
Belen MunozAugmented reality applications are a promising alternative to GPS. At least that is what Blippar’s AR City app claims to be.
How blockchain technology is changing the agriculture industry
Megan Ray NicholsBlockchain is useful for more than cryptocurrency. It’s revolutionizing industry after industry. Next, it may change the way we get our food. The agriculture industry is complex. …
Custom-grown bones, and other wild advances in regenerative medicine
Vanessa Bates RamirezThe human body has always been an incredible machine, from the grand feats of strength and athleticism it can accomplish down to the fine details of each vein, nerve, and cell. …
Your Next Nature guide to Dutch Design Week 2018
Meike SchipperOver time, our bodies, our food and our environment have become more and more subject to design. As designers, we hold the responsibility and have the unique chance to envision …
The Great Pacific garbage "patch" is now three times the size of France
Ruben BaartMon dieu! The swirling pile of trash in the Pacific Ocean is growing at an exponential rate. A recent study has estimated that the mass of the garbage island is four to sixteen …
Smartphone app helps indigenous communities fight deforestation
jeannedjawadiFive people suspected of illegal gold mining in Peru are in custody after indigenous community members used a system called ForestLink to alert authorities to the activity. …
The New Technology in Agriculture: Trees
Jack CaulfieldNew technologies are changing the landscape, but the latest trend reshaping rural environments and agriculture is agroforestry: the art of planting trees.
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 …
China's state news agency has unveiled a virtual newsreader
bryan clarkDon’t adjust your TV set, that’s just a new computer-generated news anchor working out the bugs. Xinhua, a Chinese state-run media company, and Sogou, a Beijing-based search …
Why you should attend ADE Green
Ruben BaartADE Green returns for the seventh consecutive year to the DeLaMar Theater in Amsterdam. Once more, Amsterdam Dance Event organizes this leading event to ignite sustainable action, …
Air pollution may be making us less intelligent
Barbara MaherNot only is air pollution bad for our lungs and heart , it turns out it could actually be making us less intelligent, too. A recent study found that in elderly people living in …
Aleph Farms grew meat in space
Freya HutchingsHello meat lovers! In vitro meat innovator Aleph Farms has taken the saying 'one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind' to a whole new level. The startup has succeeded …
This artificial reef was just deployed in Sydney Harbor
Vanessa Bates RamirezEarth’s oceans have seen better days. They’re inundated with plastic waste, both whole single-use plastics and tons of plastic microparticles that find their way back into our …
The remaining numbers of endangered animal species shown in pixels
Ruben BaartToday is World Animal Day , a day to put the spotlight on man's best friends in order to improve their welfare standards around the globe. At Next Nature HQ, we honor this day by …
Discussing bio-based material experiences with Elvin Karana
Meike SchipperThe 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 …
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 …
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 …
Artificial bones for the natural meat experience
Ruben BaartThe world is developing, climate change is happening and it's time for us to do something. Now. One strategy would be to simply stop eating meat — or at least reduce the amount of …
Next Generation: Thinking about the future of food with Annie Larkins
Freya HutchingsThis 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 …
A vegan meat revolution is coming to global fast food chains
Malte RodlA few years ago, convincing meat-free “meat” was nothing more than a distant dream for most consumers. Meat substitutes in supermarkets lacked variety and quality. Plant-based …
Smart cities could give the visually impaired a new outlook on urban life
Drishty SobnathTravelling to work, meeting friends for a catch up or just doing some shopping are often taken for granted by people with no known disabilities. For the visually impaired, these …
How Amazon trees write their own autobiographies
Chris HuntTropical forests are one of the world’s largest carbon stores and they help regulate the global climate. But they’re being erased at a terrifying rate. Deforestation claimed an …
Why half of the world's beaches could disappear by 2100
Simon BoxallUp to half of the world’s sandy beaches are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century if no action is taken to limit greenhouse gas emissions. That’s according to a new …
The Ouroboros Steak is a steak made out of human cells
Nellie FriedrichYou 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 …
The technosphere is outweighing the biosphere
Ruben BaartOur 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 …
A message from volcanic rocks
Laura van den BrinkAlthough it’s seductive to think of human beings as the dominant species on earth, many others play important roles too. Bacteria, insects, algae colonies, rocks and the …
In conversation with cyborg musician Kai Landre
Ruben BaartWhat does the merge of bodies and technology mean for the human? For cyborg Kai Landre, cybernetic extensions become body parts and not technology. Kai began his transition to a …
This book explains why cooking food was essential to human evolution
Ruben BaartA must-read to the Next Nature fan: Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human (2009). Written by British primatologist Richard Wrangham, the author shares his hypothesis that …
Cyborg mythologies #2: Jesus was a cyborg
MaithriThis is #2 in our cyborg mythologies series, where we explore the cyborg as a historical being intertwined within mythologism, ancient religion and sacred iconology. A way to …
Cyborg mythologies #3: in god we trust, all others bring data
MaithriThis is #3 in our cyborg mythologies series, where we explore the cyborg as a historical being intertwined within mythologism, ancient religion and sacred iconology. A way to …
Evolving In Vitro with Yuval Yancovitch
Kelly van GemertWith 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 …
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.
In conversation with cyborg choreographer Moon Ribas
Ruben BaartIf we could extend our senses in order to perceive the planet in a deeper way, would our understanding and our behavior towards it be different? We caught up with cyborg …
Knitting sweaters from human hair
Kelly van GemertThe textile industry is the second largest polluter in the world that leads to a chain reaction of nasty results: loss of biodiversity, water pollution and soil erosion are just a …
The Next Nature gift guide 2021
Next Nature DevAs winter arrives, so does the season of giving. Good gift giving is an art and can be quite the endeavor at times. But don’t worry, Next Nature is here to help! We present to you …
How a starfish inspires robotic design
MaithriIn 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 …
Colonizing Mars with plants, not humans
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 …
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, …
To save forests, researchers are hooking trees up to Twitter (again)
Ruben BaartIn 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: …
Next Generation: Exploring blood, salt and iron as biomaterials with Hedwich Rooks
Kelly van GemertThis 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. …
Chloé Rutzerveld designs the food of tomorrow
Eleni MaragkouYou 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 …
How technology will help us adapt to climate change
Ruben BaartClimate change will transform how we live, but these tech and policy experts see reason for optimism
Growing artificial muscles
Marit BeerseA team of researchers from Freiburg University has developed an artificial muscle that may result in improvements in medicine, prosthetics, and implants.
Growth is not the problem, but the solution
Ruben BaartIf we want to bring down global CO2 emissions to zero, we will need technological innovation and massive infrastructure projects.
Time gets bendy in Disney Pixar's new film
Marit BeerseSpoiler alert: this article explains a key plot point, but we don’t give away anything you won’t see in trailers. At the beginning of the new Disney Pixar film, Lightyear, Buzz …
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 …
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.
Personalise your gut health with Microbiota To Go
Ruben BaartIn 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.
Next Generation: Emptying Out with Natasja Bökkerink
Kelly van GemertThis 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 expo explores technological nature and indigenous insight
NextNature.netTechnology brings us closer to nature, and indigenous insight reconnects us to our roots.
Next Generation: Redesigning Burberry with Jiyong Lee
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
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.
Bacteria might have eaten the Titanic's wreckage by 2030
Selin KirIn 1912, the RMS Titanic met a fateful demise as it crashed into the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, leaving a mark on the world's collective memory, and igniting a lasting …
A shoebox of fractal flowers
Koert van MensvoortIt's not every day that someone walks into your office with a shoebox, and even more rare when that shoebox contains a potential future.
Meet Indonesia's virtual news anchors
Kelly van GemertVirtual news anchors seem to spread like wildfire across Asia. We've witnessed Xinhua present the news from China and applauded Lisa on becoming India’s first regional AI news …
Next Generation: Going viral with lab-grown meat and Leyu Li
Kelly van GemertTo explore the public opinion towards cultured meat, speculative food designer Leyu Li created fictional influencer “Meaty Auntie” and turned to TikTok.
This coffee is prepared without coffee beans
NextNature.netThe Netherlands is a real coffee country. With the amount of coffee Dutchies drink per year, they have been in the top 10 of most coffee drinkers for years. Drinking so much …
Browse the Catalog For The Post-Human
Veronica FanzioAugment your physiology. Enhance your prospects. From neuro-electronics, to robotic-prosthetics and mind-altering pharmaceuticals.
Future Festive Feast
Kelly van GemertAs the year is coming to a close, many of us are preparing our homes and dinner tables for a festive meal.
24 hours economy
Rolf CoppensCould the biggest, most successful discount store in the world really meet your every need? Twenty-four hours a day? That's what the TV spots are saying. Really living there. …
Anabukin-chan
Rolf CoppensThis is one of the weirdest things I ever saw... It's a commercial for a construction company. The text goes a little bit like this: Anabukikonten is "Anabuki Construction Co." …
Anybody else hear that ringing?
Koert van MensvoortAn actress in Atlanta, has tried to answer her phone to the thrrrrup, thrrrrup, thrrrrup of a truck bouncing down a pothole-pocked street. Others say they thought they heard …
Avian Android
jdthSculpture, android bird's voices, a mechanical reconstruction of organic life-forms, electronically controlled by Judith Fegerl Taking "The Chinese Nightingale", a tale of Hans …
Biosphere 2
Koert van MensvoortBiosphere 2 is a manmade closed ecological system in Oracle, Arizona. Constructed between 1987 and 1989, it was used to test if and how people could live and work in a closed …
Child Care Robot
Koert van MensvoortNEC corporation is developping a "Childcare Robot PaPeRo" capable to play with and watch over children. The Childcare Robot is capable of recognizing and verbally communicating …
Datafountain: Money translated to water
Koert van Mensvoort"In the morning paper, I can read the weather report as well as the stock quotes. But when I look out of my window I only get a weather update and no stock exchange info. Could …
Digital Stock Market Garden
KarlThe Ticker Garden is a stand-alone data visualization application that monitors a stock portfolio. Different flowers represent the real-time performance of selected stocks via the …
Entry 2006 exhibition opened
Koert van MensvoortToday the Entry 2006 exhibition opened in the coalwashe building, Zollverein. For 100 days 'perspectives and visions in design' with over 300 exhibits from more than 20 countries …
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 …
Everyday robots
Rolf CoppensA beautifull movie about robots in everyday life. Made by 1st Avenue Machine. Watch the Quicktime here
Evolving Logo
Koert van MensvoortGenerative 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, …
Furniture comes to life
Arnoud van den HeuvelWhen a dog walks, the leg that is put forward, is simultaniously followed by the diagonal-opposite leg (f.e. left/back+right/front or right/back+left/front). Wouter Scheublin …
Glamourdog
Dr NaturalAll the clothing for your dog companion: Dresses, sweaters, shoes, sportswear, jewellery, etc. Why do people dress up their animal? www.glamourdog.com
GloFish
Rolf CoppensA tropical fish that fluoresces bright red is set to become the first genetically modified pet to go on sale in the US. Alan Blake and colleagues at Yorktown Technologies …
Green Electricity
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkElectricity itself is a natural phenomena, but as regular AC/DC currency it becomes a commoddity. But Green Electricity is a strange thing. You pay more money for your electricity …
Harvesting traffic information through GSM's
Koert van MensvoortTomTom and Vodaphone want to use mobile phone signals sent from traffic jams to gather real-time travel information. The data will be used for TomTom users to establish if roads …
Hoax Dragon
Arnoud van den Heuvel"The baby dragon, in a sealed jar, was discovered with a metal tin containing paperwork in old-fashioned German of the 1890s. (...) Some scientists believe that dragons, though …
Inner life of a cell
Rolf CoppensYou know.. cells have feelings too... and friends.. Check the video here
intelligent bricks
Arnoud van den HeuvelToys are growing up so we don't have to. Lego introduces: "mindstorms"...
Lifestyle pets
Rolf CoppensALLERCA has produced the world's first scientifically-proven hypoallergenic cats. These cats allow some of the millions of people with feline allergies to finally enjoy the love …
N is for Nature
NextNature.netThere are people who think what makes a good wine comes from nature - factors like rain and soil and temperature. Then there are those who think it's a matter of second nature - …
WiFi-enabled Ambient Rabbit
There may even come a moment that our connection with an industrially manufactured coke bottle may be richer and more mythical that our relation with a genetically analysed and …
Navirobo - GPS Navigation Bear
Dr NaturalThis is only available in Japan. The Navirobo Teddy Bear has a GPS module, sit it on your dashboard and let the navigating begin. Navirobo will point you in the correct direction …
Online RPG Funeral Gets Ambushed
Koert van MensvoortSince its launch in November 2004, World of Warcraft (Wow) has become the most widely played massively multiplayer online (MMO) game in the world. When a popular WoW player died …
PictoOrphanage
Koert van MensvoortPictoOrphanage opened its gates to all abandoned creatures we thought should be saved from falling into oblivion. these helpless, lonely waifs and strays could be found …
Plant Sensors
Koert van MensvoortOne day you will step into the garden to look at the flowers - and the flowers will look back at you. Rich Fletcher, Nikolai Slavov, and Hiroshi Ishii from MIT Tangible Media …
pour des dents d'un blanc éclatant et saines
Dr NaturalAnother peculiar image by jeroen diepenmaat
Roachbot
Rolf CoppensAfter the nuclear war, the only one that will be left are the roaches. This guy thought it was a good idea to start building cars for them. Watch the video on Youtube . Also watch …
Sequoiaview - harddisk visualisation
Koert van MensvoortDid you ever wonder where all that hard drive space went too? Sequoiaview generates organic-like views of the files and folders on your hard drives using cushion treemaps. …
Social Robots
Koert van MensvoortSmile! We are your friends. Robots will play an important role in our future society. We need to ensure that robots are socially compatible with us in order for society to accept …
Robo-carp
Rolf CoppensScientists in Japan have developed a koi robot that swishes around in water just like the real, fishy thing, and does stuff real koi can't: swim in reverse and rotate in place. …
Tree bombs
Rolf CoppensDisarm - or we will reforest you! Back in 1997, Moshe Alamaro "designed conical canisters, of a starchy biodegradable material, which each contain a seedling packed in soil and …
Tree-climbing robot
Arnoud van den HeuvelI wonder what task this little fellow 's creators had in mind for him. Rescuing cats? Pruning branches? Picking coconuts? Found here. I'm glad there's a robot for every surface …
Virtual Miss Germany
basiakScientists are looking for the most beautiful woman in Germany... At the 2002 Miss Germany pageant, the eight finalists were photographed from the same angle without makeup. The …
What's Epic?
Arnoud van den HeuvelEpic is a fictional prospect (from 2004) on the future culture of media and internet-corporations. The human addiction to news and information must - according to this video - …
Wildgruen
Dr NaturalMandy Meißner's "Wildgruen", a plant that can move and communicate. In her view, plants need to be freed from their isolation, both in the way that they can only lean towards the …
Augmented Cognition
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe Augmented Cognition System will help the brain adapt to data on computer-screens. If there's too much/little data, it will decrease/increase the information for you. If the …
Backpacker Airplane
Koert van MensvoortNo, I am not sure if and how this distressed airplane wearing its passengers luggage on its back relates to our research topic. Anyhow, it is the peculiar image of the week. The …
Biomapping
Koert van MensvoortBio Mapping is a research project which explores new ways that we as individuals can make use of the information we can gather about our own bodies. The project envisages new …
Biotypography
Rolf CoppensIsraelian typographer Oded Ezer looks at the world from his point of view, through letters and numbers. So why not turn the world into typography. A short interview taken from …
Bisected Brontosaurus in a Water-Filled Case
Koert van MensvoortChinese artist Xu Zhen created the monumental untitled sculpture depicted above (sorry I am such a bad photographer) for "NONO", a show without explanations or preconceptions, I …
Blinkybugs
Arnoud van den HeuvelBlinkybugs are small, simple, electromechanical bugs that respond to stimulus such as movement, vibrations, or air currents. They are constructed by hand from LEDs, wire, and …
Bonsai tree table
Koert van MensvoortSomehow next nature seems to reveal itself through furniture. Earlier we've featured the treetrunk bench , the bone chair , the folding chair , sketch furniture and how to grow a …
Brainbow Mice
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn the 1960s, scientists found that a particular jellyfish makes a protein that glows, known as green fluorescent protein. In the 1990s, using genetic engineering, researchers …
Car Navigation - Just Follow the Red Cable
Koert van MensvoortJust follow the yellow brick road ... thin red cable and you know where to go! Instead of looking at a small 6 inch screen, or listening to less than exact turn by turn …
Catcam
Arnoud van den HeuvelJ. Perthold (Germany) has a cat called Mr. Lee; a cat with a cam! Through smart circuit-engineering, the VistaQuest Digital Keychain takes pictures every minute for 48 hours on …
Cleanbits - indulgences website C02
Koert van MensvoortWhat has a virtual world got to do with CO2 emissions? Yes. Electricity. Computers are getting increasingly more powerful and thus, using increasingly more power. Cleanbits (Dutch …
Coexist
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDonna Conlon is a Panama-based artist who often uses the relation between man and environment in her work. In her short film "Coexist" we get a close-up look at leaf cutter ants …
Confetti chicken
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis weeks peculiar image was taken this summer by a friend of mine. He went to a birdmarket in Esfahan, Iran and noticed that discrimination takes many forms; only blond chicks …
Crop Circles
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn the UK farmers recall simple circles appearing on their land for generations. The British media first reported on the circles in the early 1980s. By 1990 crop circles had …
Designer pets
Rolf CoppensIf your house just isn't big enough to have a leopard, you can allways buy these 20.000 dollar cats. Nailcaps are included to prevent scratches on the matching cat furniture. I …
Do you "MIND"?
Arnoud van den HeuvelNeuroSky (founded in 2004) innovator in "wearable" bio-sensor/signal processing systems and SEGA TOYS are developing mind-controlled computer games and next generation consumer …
Fake for Real: The Money Matrix
Koert van MensvoortIt's fascinating how stock traders can get so excited about a few abstract numbers on an electronic display. These numbers represent real money, and every small fluctuation can …
Fire fighting beetle - OLE
Arnoud van den HeuvelJust like centipedes OLE can roll up into a ball when danger threatens and retract its six legs. Its heat-resistant shell is made of a ceramic-fibre compound which can withstand …
FishBowl - Ready made Meal
Koert van MensvoortAfter cooking lobsters alive, picking your own living fish in a restaurant and serving your rabbit for Christmas dinner, now comes a wonderful new creation: the FishBoil. This …
Flat Pets
Arnoud van den HeuvelHere's an animal-friendly alternative for Tinkebells Cat Bag and it scares the crap out of mice! There's also an instant infant and a cuddly fish bowl . These cardboard-pets were …
French Aids Campaign
Koert van MensvoortThis French Aids campaign is a wonderful example of biomimicmarketing (using images of old nature for propaganda or marketing purposes). They may be disturbing but the message …
Generative graffiti
Arnoud van den HeuvelHere 's a work by Theodore Watson (Amsterdam) on the face of the Maritime Hotel (New York) The particles are attracted to one another but will repel away from the non-lit windows. …
Giant Plush Microbes
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe bear is a wild animal, a predator and hostile to man. Yet somewhere in the beginning of the 20th century someone caught the idea of making a cuddly toy out of it. Perhaps …
Guys and Dolls
Rolf CoppensGoogle Video is no longer in operation. Sorry for the inconvenience "It's a high form of masturbation" A RealDoll is a realistic life-size sex doll that cost more than an average …
Hamster Shredder
Arnoud van den HeuvelTom Ballhatchet introduces mice and hamsters into the officegarden. tomballhatchet.com
Information Decoration: Our Environment as an Information Carrier
Koert van MensvoortPicture this: it's 40,000 years ago, and you are an early Homo sapiens. You are standing on the savanna. Look around you. What do you see? No billboards, no traffic signs, no …
Kids are extensions of parents?
Dr NaturalThe IonKids system from the firm Bluespan allows parents to give their young children some autonomy in the context of their environment to a certain point. The child wears an …
Kite ship
Rolf CoppensThe world's first commercial merchant ship using a high-tech kite system will sail across oceans - and help fight climate change. "MV Beluga Skysails" cargo ship has been fitted …
Ladybug cleans the Toilet
Dr NaturalA bug that does the cleaning? This 1-meter (39-inch) tall, 1.35-meter (53-inch) long prototype robot ' named "Lady Bird" ' is designed to clean public restrooms at highway rest …
Long line of cars
Koert van MensvoortThere's a long line of cars And they're trying to get through There's no single explanation There's no central destination But this long line of cars Is trying to get through And …
No transparent frog
Arnoud van den HeuvelIt was in the news all over the world, but wonder why at NextNature.net we have not mentioned the 'invention' of the transparent frog before? Probably because we think the frog is …
Packet garden
Dr NaturalPacket Garden is an experimental artwork that seeks to provide an alternative and accessible approach to visualizing daily internet use. Plants are also grown for each protocol …
Periodic table of the internet
Koert van MensvoortA periodic table of the most popular websites on the internet . websites are categorized according to search engines, internet tools, site ranking, aggregators, web comics, …
RedesignMe
Koert van MensvoortWe are all born in a world that has been designed already. Cars, dishwashers, dildo's, remote controls, ATM machines. Although these products are supposed to make life better, …
Robots in disguise
Rolf Coppens"Every year, in Germany alone, around 7000 people wait for a new cornea to save their eyesight. But donor corneas are in short supply. In an EU project, researchers have developed …
Surfing with nothing but brainwaves
Koert van MensvoortI couldn't believe the news? Scientist are working on a system that allows you to surf the web with nothing but brainwaves . I thought surfing was a rich physical experience of …
The things we design end up designing us
Dr Natural"While battling the forces of nature, man has become more and more independent of physical conditions. At the same time, however, he has become more and more dependent of …
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 …
Tickle Massage Robot
Koert van MensvoortTickle is a small robot that walks on the human body to generate a pleasant, tickling sensation.It has two motors and rubber feet for a good grip on the skin. When it encounters a …
Typosperma
Rolf CoppensAnother project by Oded Ezer, Typosperma is the second experimental typo project in his 'Biotypography' series. As a paraphrase on the biotechnology definition, 'Biotypography' is …
RFID implant opens doors
Dr NaturalAmal has two RFID implants, one in each hand. His left hand contains a 3mm by 13mm EM4102 glass RFID tag that was implanted by a cosmetic surgeon. His right hand contains a 2mm by …
Who wants to drive in a Fish?
Dr NaturalBehold the BoxFish, Mercedes' bionic concept car. This tropical fish is outstandingly streamlined. Its engineers were able to achieve a wind drag coefficient of just 0.06 in the …
Worm-storm weather report
Koert van MensvoortA short video showing a live o utbreak of malware named Small.DAM. Are we looking at the weather report of the future here?
10 years Google
Mieke GerritzenThe good people of NextNature.net congratulate Google.com with its tenth anniversary. See also: Google 2084 , Google DNA , Google manhole , Googling in physical space , Google …
A Garden Raised by Television
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis installation is called Feed and raises ferns that can survive under conditions of extreme lighting. The television screens provide light to the plants, which grow …
Amsterdam Weekly on the Natural Revolution
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) . …
Pet dreamhouse
Arnoud van den HeuvelAnyone can build the house of their dreams via scaryideas.com The previous images are of course created for commercial purposes, but just take a look at the domestics below and …
Bananawall
Koert van MensvoortWho would not need a bananawall in their officegarden? This modular freestanding, indoor/outdoor bananawall system was designed by Stefan Sagmeister . It is made of 7200 banana's. …
Banksy Pet Store
NielsFamous street artist Banksy left his grafitti spraycans at home and sets to opening a pet store. The difference with this pet store is that instead of looking at pets, you look at …
Barcode Tiger
Arnoud van den HeuvelPeculiar image found at: leoburnett.com Barcode zebra via: photochopz.com Barcode bottom via: jetcityorange.com Found another barcoded animal? Please post below. Related: Barcode …
Big Dog got puppies
Arnoud van den HeuvelWe posted this fella two years ago but the guys at Boston Dynamics haven't been sitting still. Improvements have been made and Big Dog got puppies! Little Dog (a learning robot …
Blobman
Koert van MensvoortThis landscape is titled 'I can not help the way I feel' and was created by John Isaacs . The way in which the flesh grows, erupts and engulfs the body can be seen as a metaphor …
BlobWall
Dr NaturalWho would not need a blobwall in their officegarden? This modular freestanding, indoor/outdoor wall system was designed by Greg Lynn . It is made of a low-density, recyclable, and …
Build a better being
Koert van MensvoortWill Wright's hugely successful games SimCity and The Sims let players shape the structure of urban areas and the lives of virtual humans; his upcoming game, Spore , lets them …
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 …
Design Your Sims
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkIKEA is going to sell furniture with Electronic Arts via The Sims 2 game. Soon, it will be possible for you game addicts, to refurbish your Sims living room into your own …
DNA Synthesizer
Arnoud van den HeuvelPlaying 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 …
DogFish
Arnoud van den HeuvelTry selling cars these days without some good old genetic manipulation...
Dying ships
Koert van MensvoortThese ships were abandoned over twenty years ago. Their owners left them to die after the Chernobyl disaster due to their high levels of radiation. One of the great ironies of the …
Elephant Artist
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis weeks peculiar image was made by Elephant Artist Sri Siam at the Lamphang Elephant Camp in Thailand. It is hard to tell whether the elephants actually know what they are …
Elephant sends sms messages to rangers
Niko VegtIn the Kenyan wildlife conservancy Ol Pejeta elephants are tagged with a GPS-triggered text messaging device. Before the elephants start raiding the nearby villagers' harvest they …
Evolving mouse
Koert van MensvoortJosé E. Rivera emailed us this image of his strangely evolving mouse. We are clueless on what motives or evolutionary pressure a computer mouse might have to transform itself into …
Fake for Real: Cartoon Rats
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn 2000 on a Japanese auction site , 20 real live Pokemon Pikachus were offered for 925 million dollars. Roughly translated: We capture each one after your order, so we guarantee …
Fake for Real: Dolly, the Cloned Sheep
Koert van MensvoortRemember Dolly, the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult somatic cell? Her birth was announced in 1997. People tend to see clones as exact copies of the originals, …
Fake-Space Race
Koert van MensvoortSome weeks ago we pondered over the oddity of a space race in cyberspace . Rockets and jet-packs –so cool in the previous century– don't make sense in a virtual environment. The …
Flying Penguins
Koert van MensvoortLast week, the BBC reported a colony of penguins that had gained the ability to fly (video) . The penguins were reported to fly thousands of miles and spend the winter in the …
Futuristic Bird Dwellings
Koert van MensvoortEvery fashionable self-conscious modern bird needs one of these futuristic dwellings, no? Designed by Kevin Sethapun.
Google DNA search
Rolf CoppensLast year Google invested four million in 23andme , a commercial research center that maps out your DNA for 1000 bucks. Now Google also invested in Navigenics , a company that …
Grasscutter Architects
Arnoud van den HeuvelTen tons of cement were pourred into this grasscutters ant colony, revealing a subterranean structure of 8 meters / 26 feet deep. 'Ant-City' was built including circulating …
Green Blues: Biofuels add to Global Warming
Koert van MensvoortIt is official: the Green Blues has begun. Almost all bio-fuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing …
Green Roofs for Living
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis impression shows the ambitions of the city of Rotterdam for the coming decade. The city is supposed to have an image problem concerning its greenlife; as a big industrial …
Hail Control Gun
Arnoud van den HeuvelA single hail storm can destroy the year's harvest. For over 25 years, this gun has been used by vine and fruit growers in France, Spain, Austria and Belgium for one purpose: …
Hortus Conclusus
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis weeks peculiar image is a work by Zeger Reyers. In 2001 he vaccinated some everyday objects - found in the basement of Rotterdam Art Centre Witte de With - with oyster …
Human animal hybrid
Koert van MensvoortThis peculiar, half-human creature could be your cousin. No really; it is a sculpture by Patricia Piccinini entitled The Young Family , which, in turn, is part of a larger …
Hurricane$ approaching
Koert van MensvoortEconomy is ecology . At least, according to the biomimicmarketeers of the US Wachovia Bank who created this weather report like newspaper advertisement. Nowadays most people worry …
Hurricane Control Causes a Storm of Lawsuits
Koert van MensvoortControlling hurricanes could save lots of lives and dollars. According to a study published in by climate physicist Daniel Rosenfeld , adding dust to Hurricane Katrina's base …
Hybrid Carp with human face
Koert van MensvoortI never expected anthropomorphobia to be evoked by a fish! This hybrid species fish was born between a carp and a leather carp in the pond of a personal house in Chongju. Each of …
Hyper Fish
Koert van MensvoortWhile swimming in second life, India Leigh came across this cool lion fish. See also: Redefining Nemo , Augmented Fish Reality , Who wants to drive a fish? .
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 …
Just right for the garden: Mini-Cow
Koert van MensvoortRising supermarket prices are persuading hundreds of families to turn their back gardens into mini-ranches stocked with miniature cattle. For between £200 and £2,000, people can …
Last night I saw a magnificent flock of Visas
Koert van Mensvoort"Visa has elements of Jeffersonian democracy, it has elements of the free market, of government franchising – almost every kind of organization you can think about. But it is none …
Lecture in San Diego
Lecture on Next Nature this Wednesday at the UCSD Center for Research in Computing and the Arts in San Diego. Expect wild trees, wild beaches, and wild systems.
Letting Go
Koert van MensvoortInspired by the death of his grandfather, LEGO builder Shannon Ocean visualizes the chaos that lies beyond death in this thoughtful and somewhat disturbing piece called " Letting …
Mice cloned from freezer – Mammoths next?
Dr NaturalIs the second coming of the woolly mammoth near? Researchers at Japan’s Institute of Physical and Chemical Research ( RIKEN ), who have successfully cloned mice from carcasses …
Million dollar burger
Rolf CoppensPETA –People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals– has posed a challenge to the world's scientific community: The first person to come up with a method to produce commercially …
Nobuo Takahashi's Exploding City (video)
Koert van MensvoortIn 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of the world's population will be living in towns and cities . By 2030 this number will swell to almost 5 billion, with …
Observing Next Nature
Koert van MensvoortYou can watch it grow in front of your eyes. Via Core.form-ula .
Oil Price Threatens Biofuel Firms
Dr NaturalEconomy is ecology? Technology Review writes the price of oil has dipped to levels that could be far too low for many advanced-biofuel startups to succeed, especially those that …
PacMan's Skull
Koert van MensvoortPacMan's skeleton is our peculiar object of the week. It was created by Le Gentil Garcon , in collaboration with Fransois Escuilia, palaeontologist, from the comparative …
Plastic Flamingos Saved From Extinction
Koert van MensvoortDid you know there are more plastic flamingos in the USA than real ones? Plastic flamingos are widely considered to be the stereotypical example of lawn kitsch – the American's …
Popple
Koert van MensvoortWith her babybunnies series provocateur/artist/designer Tinkebell aims to provide an analysis of the consumptive attitude people have in relation to their pets. This latest work – …
Popple II
Koert van MensvoortMake no mistake. The children of the 80's are the bioengineers of today. ://nextnature.net
Prof. Dr. Jos de Mul's - Poetry of Genetics
Koert van MensvoortIn the weeks towards the Biggest Visual Power Show 2008 we post a few video's of earlier power show presentations. Philosopher Prof. Dr. Jos de Mul – author of countless articles …
RepRap - a self-reproducing machine
GuustThe RepRap is a selfreproducing 3D printer. The 3D printer 'prints' his own components by melting tiny plastic particles together. Imagine what would happen if this 3D printer …
Roboswift, Eyes in Disguise
Arnoud van den HeuvelWith its 50 cm wing span and 80 grams of weight, this high tech bird is ready to infiltrate swift surveillance squads next summer. Aerospace engineering students at TU Delft , …
Robot asimo conducts concert
Dr NaturalAt a recent Yo-Yo Ma concert at the Detroit Opera House, Honda's ASIMO robot took the stage and conducted. Blame Honda when the robots take over. Thanks Paul .
A robot that controls your remote controls
Dr NaturalConfused with the pile of remote controls in your house? Now here is an idea: get a robot to control them. Researchers at Toshiba have developed a talking robot, named ApriPoko, …
Robotic R)evolution
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn 1921 the word "Robot" (meaning "labor") was introduced by Czech writer Karel ?apek . In his play "R.U.R." (Rossum's Universal Robots), robots seem happy to work for humans. …
Saturn (Directors Cut)
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe struggle between the born and the made is being fought out in a wardrobe on Saturn. By: 1stavemachine.com | Related: Sixties Last
Shopping for deer
Koert van MensvoortGary Barwin – unsurprisingly from Canada – created this image in response to this weeks peculiar image . The good man even went on and wrote a little poem with it. Yes dear …
Simulacra for Imposters
Arnoud van den Heuvel“Transformation” is the title of the video by a group of bio–industrialists called Foster Farms . They also sell chicken products, but that’s just to fund their quest for fair …
Skeleton Mouse
Koert van MensvoortThis rather illustrative but nonetheless peculiar object of the week is for all you Goths out there. Surely Douglas Engelbart – who invented the computer mouse in 1967 – would not …
Slavoj Zizek - Ecology without Nature
Koert van MensvoortThis lecture by Marxist philosopher Slavoj Zizek – never mind the crappy sound & image quality: this is philosophy folks! – should provide all next nature explorers with a …
Small Talks
Arnoud van den HeuvelAn installment in the series of: " Things I have learned in my life so far ". sagmeister.com These dividing pages for Austrian magazine .copy spell out:"Starting / a / charity / …
Some Kids Don't Like Chicken
Koert van MensvoortBut they love dinosaur! Judge for yourself whether this dinosaur nugget product is supposed to give kids a history lesson on the evolutionary relation between dinosaurs and birds …
Teddy's Atonomy
Arnoud van den HeuvelWool sculptor Stephanie Metz researched the meaning of 'cute' through the morphology of some Teddy bear species. Related posts: PacMan's Scull | Animatus
The copypaste Bird
Koert van MensvoortOne might think this video is just another witty flick made by some media artist. It is not. This is a real bird living in Southern Australia. In order to attract females, the …
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 …
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 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 …
Effects of citrus smell and mosquito noise
SaraRecently, two new inventions have been developed. One, the mosquito-buzzer produces a 5 or 6 KHz buzz, which is (or should be) only audible for people under 25 years old. A …
Traffic nature
Rolf CoppensJapanese scientists made people drive in circles to find out how traffic jams get born. Related: Human Swarms | Harvesting Traffic Information through GSMs | The things we design …
Vegetarian Nike
Koert van MensvoortNo animals were hurt or injured in the production of these vegetarian Nikes. Created by Paul van Barneveld . Thanks Floris . See also Flesh Nike .
Voodoo Communication Device for Lovers
Koert van MensvoortVoodoo is an ancient religion, originating from Africa, who’s mystical practice is believed to bring reward to those who are willing to place their destiny in the hands of loving …
Voyage of the Bacteria Bots
Dr NaturalThe 1966 science-fiction movie Fantastic Voyage famously imagined using a tiny ship to combat disease inside the body. With the advent of nanotechnology, researchers are inching …
Wood of logo's
Koert van MensvoortA wood of logo's. Installation created by Karl Grandin – yup, same guy made the nextnature.net wallpaper– at the powershow in Paradiso, Amsterdam 2005. See also: Animal Sweater .
BVPS Next Nature in LA - Pictures!
May 17th 2008. Biggest Visual Power Show: Next Nature in LA . More pictures below. We are all born in a world that has been designed already. BVPS intro video by Floris Kaayk. Big …
Zombie Spam – botnet resurrects from death
Koert van MensvoortComputerworld reports a big spam-spewing botnet, that was shut down a few weeks ago, has been resurrected and is again under the control of criminals. The "Srizbi" botnet returned …
A day in the Dutch dunes
Koert van MensvoortRecently, I had a nice day in the Dutch dunes with the people of Blocter.com , who show the people behind blogs. We closely investigated the Scottish highland cattle that acts as …
Advanced Seed Bombs
Arnoud van den HeuvelDesigner Jin-wook Hwang from South Korea came up with the idea of replanting and reforesting arid areas using seed bombs . When airdropped, the bombs disassemble themselves, …
Another Skeleton Car
Koert van MensvoortThis one is kinda sporty! Again created by Jitish Kallat – this emerging indian artist must have a whole skeleton-automotive-industry in place by now? Related: Aquasaurus , …
Anthropomorphic 3d webcam
Dr NaturalThis new 3D webcam with two cameras spaced approximately as far apart as human eyes is our anthropomorphic object of the week. Can you feel it, watching you? The little brother …
Aquasaurus
Koert van MensvoortThis skeleton truck was dug up created by Jitish Kallat . Related: Skeleton mouse , Animatus , Pacman’s skull .
A.T.R.E.E.M.
Arnoud van den HeuvelMeet A.T.R.E.E.M. (acronym for Automated Tree-Rental for Emission Encaging Machine), a device that compares daily activities, energy and products to the growth of a tree. "From an …
Behavioral Urbanism
Arnoud van den HeuvelIts title might be self-explanatory and it sure looks intriguing... however kokkugia fails to give a thorough description for this architectual piece. Classified as 'peculiar …
Boomeranged Metaphors
Koert van MensvoortAt the start of the digital era, metaphors from everyday life were used – in what was then the new computer environment – in order to make otherwise incomprehensible technology …
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 …
Conversations at the doctor
Koert van MensvoortA mother takes her sick child to the doctor. Who, after careful investigation, concludes the child has a 'virus infection'. The kid is offended and shouts: "But Doctor! I am not a …
Craig Venter – Catalyst of evolution
Koert van MensvoortIf 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 …
Deforestation in China threatens giant pandas
Rolf CoppensI found this ad very ironic; after killing the giant panda (by turning it into a logo) WWF is complaining that the Chinese are killing the living version of it. I wonder if they …
Designing for NextNature @ TU Eindhoven
Koert van MensvoortStarting February 2009 the Industrial Design department of the Eindhoven University of Technology takes Next Nature as one of its educational themes. The Industrial Design …
Designing Bugs That Eat Plastic
Koert van MensvoortIt is a well known secret that plastic hardly breaks down and almost all of the plastic ever made still floats around somewhere . With the great pacific garbage patch now twice …
Dolphin fitted with prosthetic fin
SelbyTyre manufacturing company has come to the rescue of Fuji the dolphin who was stricken by a mysterious life threatening illness and lost her fin. She caught a disease that begun …
Ear on your arm? Why not?!
ewesFor over 40 years Australian artist Stelios Arcadious Stelarc has made art with medical instruments, prosthetics, robots, virtual reality systems and biotechnology to investigate …
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 …
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 …
Excuse me, I am lost
Dr NaturalSo, if you don't have a clue what is going on here, imagine how that horned cow on the electricity pole must feel. Extrapeculiar image of the week.
FDA holds up the delivery of an 'Apple'
Koert van MensvoortThe US Food and Drug Administration is holding up the delivery of an iMac because they seem to think it is an apple, not an Apple. I don’t want to believe that either UPS or the …
Flyvertising
Arnoud van den HeuvelTo draw attention to a stand at the publishing house of the Frankfurter Buchmesse , a publisher hired some flies. The paper mini-banners -- attached with self-dissolving wax -- …
Forefather Ox cloned to revive delicious Steak
Koert van MensvoortDelicious retro-future meat from Japan. Food technology in the overdrive. Japanese researchers successfully cloned what is believed to have been the forefather ox of Gifu …
Four environmental 'heresies'
Koert van MensvoortTED talk by Steward Brand – the man who helped usher in the environmental movement in the 1960s and '70s – has been rethinking his positions on cities, nuclear power, genetic …
From Genes, to Memes, to Temes
Koert van MensvoortSusan Blackmore studies memes: ideas that replicate themselves from brain to brain like a virus. She makes a bold new argument: Humanity has spawned a new kind of meme, the teme, …
Google Everything
Koert van MensvoortFilippo Minelli envisions Google total world domination in his very own stickery manner. See also: Google tracks flue via sick searchers , Google 2084 , Google DNA , Google …
Google 'Opt Out' parody
Koert van MensvoortThe Google Opt Out Feature Lets User protect their privacy by moving to a desolate village where the are guaranteed an environment free from Google products. Participants will …
Google technique may also track extinctions
Koert van MensvoortBoomeranged metaphor in the news: Google's algorithm for ranking web pages can be adapted to determine which species are critical for sustaining ecosystems , the BBC reports . …
Growing a nano forrest
Koert van MensvoortJohn Hart, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, is inventing techniques for growing carefully structured forests of high-quality carbon …
Get it out of Your Head
Arnoud van den HeuvelTalking about image consumption ... Via scaryideas.com | Related: Some Kids Don't Like Chicken | Banksy Pet Store | Featherless Chicken | Confetti Chicken | FFR Image Consumption
How to Grow a Sneaker
Koert van MensvoortNo silly. Of course sneakers can't be grown from transforming Koi Karpers. This is merely an fictional piece by Yoske Nishiumi. But then again, do you have any idea where your …
How to Grow your Own Toaster
Koert van MensvoortNow here is an experiment any one can do at home: Look around in your house and try to find a consumer product of which you know where it was made and by whom. Got any? Indeed, …
Inbox Victory
Rolf CoppensHave you ever been in the situation where you spend days trying answer all of your email only to accomplish your goal and have no one to share in your victory? All you want is a …
Josh Keyes
Rolf CoppensThere is something about the work of Josh Keyes. He might be the Bob Ross of our generation. He has site.
Living Doll
Arnoud van den HeuvelCrying, talking, sleeping, walking... not really, but this is what Cliff Richard's concept could look like when laboratorised. "To demonstrate a new method for fabricating …
Living Root Bridges
Koert van MensvoortIn the depths of northeastern India, one of the wettest places on earth, bridges aren't built – they're grown. What could 21th century architects learn from these dynamic …
Meat Pork
Koert van MensvoortThis meat pig was reconstructed by Ton Meijdam . See also: Get vegetarian teeth and eat less meat , Million Dollar Burger , Back to where it came from ,
Melting polar bear reveals a metal skeleton
Koert van MensvoortUnsure how this melting polar bear ice sculpture created by artist Mark Coreth fits in Next Nature mythology. The art piece was presented last week in Copenhagen and is sponsored …
Monokultur
Koert van MensvoortA peculiar photo series by Hubert Blanz . Related post: Lost on the Freeway? , Observing Next Nature , Waves of Asphalt , Interchange , Exploding City , Magic Highway USA .
Nano snowman
Rolf CoppensThis snowman is 10 µm across, 1/5th the width of a human hair. The snowman was made from two tin beads used to calibrate electron microscope astigmatism. The eyes and smile were …
Natural Fountain
Koert van MensvoortFountains are peculiar objects: We associate them with nature even though they are typically entirely artificial and man-made (unless you are living in Iceland of course). …
New Media 80.000 BC
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkEvery medium was new oneday . This point is beautifully illustrated in the movie Quest for fire ( La Guerre de feu by Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1981), a must-see for Next Nature …
Next Nest
Koert van MensvoortWhen a bird builds a nest, we call it nature, but when a human puts up an apartment building, suddenly it’s culture? As if the dividing line between nature and culture wasn't …
Nocturnal Life of Diurnal Birds
Matthijs.KwakEnglish Robins are forced to sing their song during the night. Not because they have figured out that music just sounds better in the dark, but because they can't compete with the …
Norwegian forest cat on batteries
Koert van MensvoortRobots are penetrating our homes... disguised as cats? On July 30, Sega Toys releases an el-cheapo simulation cat toy for robot cat lovers with allergies or pet-unfriendly …
Photoshopped Billboards
Rolf CoppensNice adbust in Berlins subway. Photoshop panels were put over the image to make reassure us that nobody is actually born that beautiful. More images . See also: Photoshop Beauties …
Placebo Buttons
Koert van MensvoortButtons are everywhere: throughout your day you press them on phones, alarm clocks, keyboards, elevators, dishwashers and of course on the computer screen. Although buttons did …
Plant Plays First-Person Shooter
Koert van MensvoortAfter the plant that glows when thirsty , the plant that calls when thirsty , the dataplant , plantvertizing , the emphatic plant and the blogging houseplant , there is now a …
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 …
Reprogramming Skin Cells into Stem Cells
Arnoud van den HeuvelA major breakthrough in the world of genetics: Researchers have successfully reprogrammed skin cells into stem cells. Using a technique called iPS cell reprogramming (developed in …
Robot costume
Koert van MensvoortTiger meets tiger. Apparently some of the owners of a vacuum cleaning robot feel the need to 'costumize' their device. We are now awaiting the witty bio-robotics company that …
Rubber Duck XL
Koert van MensvoortThis gigantic rubber duck was created by artist Florentijn Hofman and is currently traveling around the world. Unsure how the over-sized bird is related to our explorations in …
Second Sight - Augmented Contacts
Arnoud van den HeuvelGetting information as fast as possible and on the spot is the trend. So what could be more direct than having information fired directly into the eye? Today - together with his …
Sion Chicken
Arnoud van den HeuvelHow SecondLife ends up to be a virtual chicken farm? Watch Patrick Davison explain about the rise of Next Nature on the social platform. Image by Kaie Magic | Related: Confetti …
Steam Horse
Koert van MensvoortThis remarkable proposal for a steam powered street locomotive was invented by Mathewson in 1876. According to the inventor the goal was to make a machine resembling a horse in …
Sunlight-shaped Furniture
Arnoud van den HeuvelAustrian designers Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler have created a solar powered machine that makes arrays of furnishings that vary based on how much sunlight it receives over …
Tattooed Goldfishes
Koert van MensvoortIf a tattooed pig is a bit too much for you, why not go for a tattooed goldfish? They bring you lost of luck and are available Chinese characters such as “Wealth, Dragon, …
Branded Pigs
Koert van MensvoortWhat are these people doing? Of course! They are tattooing a pig with the pattern of the luxury bag brand Louis Vuitton. For those who want something more special than the mundane …
The Biodegradable Credit Card
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkNo question about it, Americans have an overconsumption problem. The total outstanding balance of bank-issued credit cards per consumer was $5,710 in December 2008, according to …
The Hermaphrodite Effect
Florian Conradi and Michelle ChristensenAccording to research carried out by scientists from the Columbia Environmental Research Centre , sewage water containing hormones and pesticides caused by human consumption is …
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 …
The naturalness of travelling with a Jeep
Koert van MensvoortGPS is not the most easiest product to advertise. Jeep uses biomimicmarketing to bring the message across. In this advertising campaign an iconic arrow is comprised by images of …
The Trillion Node Network
Rolf Coppens"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" , a remark made by Thomas J. Watson of IBM in 1943. But what if the number of computing devices connected to each other …
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 …
This way for Survival
Koert van MensvoortCulture fakes nature? An ultralight plane piloted by an Operation Migration team member is guiding whooping cranes from Wisconsin to their winter nesting grounds in Florida. For …
Triceracopter
Koert van MensvoortThe Triceracopter is half Triceratops, half helicopter. If dinosaurs and technology evolved at the same time, this is what the helicopter might have look like? Built as a …
![Visual of Wetware [definition]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2009/wetware-definition/03c3434b26-1602632752/wetware-868x486.jpg)
Wetware [definition]
Arnoud van den HeuvelThough its exact definition has shifted over time, the term "wetware" and its fundamental reference to "the physical mind" has been around from the mid-1950s. In its original, …
??????????
Koert van MensvoortThis translation of the essay ' Real Nature is not Green ' is a special treat from and for our fellow Next Nature explorers in China. We thank the people of the Microwave …
A Whole New Species of Television is Born
Koert van MensvoortSo you thought the Razorius Gilletus essay was farsighted? Interestingly enough, Samsung is advertising its latest TV-set as a whole new species . Despite the obvious …
Another Happy Family
Koert van MensvoortHow could you ever be an anthropomorphobic after you've seen this peculiar image of the week. Thanks Maze .
Antenna roofgarden
Koert van MensvoortDon't ask me what the purpose is of having your roof crowded with antennas. Solar energy roof-gardens I could understand, but antenna roof-gardens just seem hopelessly old …
Bad Panda
Koert van MensvoortBiomimicmarketing wars: While the WWF has worked for years to market the Panda as a vulnerable, cute and cuddly animal, the Egyptian cheese brand Panda needs only five commercials …
Battle of platforms
Arnoud van den HeuvelEver wondered why there is so much competition in the world of operating systems? This video made by Leon Wang illustrates that "old nature" mechanisms like survival of the …
Beehive Europe
Koert van MensvoortPeculiar image of the week. Via Radarvirtuel , where you can see them fly in real time.
Beware of the Virtual Squirrels
Koert van MensvoortKasey McMahon and Derek Doublin demonstrate the tension between people and their environment through the eyes of its non-human inhabitants. Beware of the Virtual Squirrels ! The …
BioPong
Ties van de WerffTechno-artists love insects. Especially their unpredictable behaviour. Eindhoven (NL) based design studio Ehdv used tracking software and connected some camera’to a bunch of wood …
BioPong II
Ties van de WerffThis time no technological enhanced roosters, dogs, cats or wood lice, but sheep! The famous viral Extreme Shepherding by The Baaa-Studs.
Botnet Storm
Koert van MensvoortNo, this is not some solar system far, far away. Closer than you think, this is is a visualization of a botnet storm . For all you know this malicious virus, or one of its …
Climate Craze in Russia
Koert van MensvoortClimate change is often thought to have its winners and losers, with Canada, Nordic countries and Russia being portrayed as among the lucky few chilly nations where moderate …
Computer versus Bacteria: Round Two
Billy SchonenbergLast year, scientists managed to use the bacteria Escherichia coli to solve a mathematical problem , described in this research . This year, the building blocks of a computer are …
Connected
Koert van MensvoortThis is your life. We concur. Self portrait by Kasey McMahon made of s teel, CAT5 and other data cables . Photo by Kevin Rolly . Peculiar image of the week.
Cows as superior species
Arnoud van den HeuvelLet's slightly move back to the NextNature theme with an amusing video by Cyriak . And if that doesn't convince you of cows being the superior species... this video most certainly …
Craig Venter unveils 'Synthetic Life'
Luuk SchipperheynCraig 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 …
Cuddly Scooters
Arnoud van den HeuvelWhy do we grow attached to things? Patricia Piccinini captured it well in this peculiar work: The Stags - 2008 (Culture becomes nature) The Nest - 2006 Thicker than Water - 2007 …
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 …
Design Fiction – Medical Bill of the Future
Koert van MensvoortAccording to this fictitious future medical bill almost every part of the human body will be repairable in 2028. Gut bacteria replacement, Bone tissue growth for skull repair, …
Dutch start Hunting again thanks to Supermarket Soccer Mascotte
Teun CasteleinIn Holland people go crazy for soccer, especially now that the national team has reached the World Cup final. We gather everything that's orange – our shirt color – as the …
Engineered Bacteria heal Cracks in Walls
Koert van MensvoortResearchers have designed bacteria that can produce a special glue to knit together cracks in concrete structures. Technews Daily reports the genetically modified microbes have …
Engineering Mosquitoes into Flying Vaccinators
Koert van MensvoortScientists have developed a mosquito that spreads vaccine instead of disease. The researchers, led by molecular geneticist Shigeto Yoshida of Jichi Medical University in Tochigi …
Europe airspace reboot
Rolf CoppensAfter a ban on flying last weeks due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, the European airspace was slowly rebooting to its old state of activity. This movie shows the movement of …
European Parliament goes Next Nature
Koert van MensvoortAlright 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 …
FluDOC – Glowing Bacteria Show if You Have Influenza
Koert van MensvoortBacteria 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 …
Follow the Leader
Koert van MensvoortNo birds or airliners where hurt in the making of our peculiar image of the week. The perceived mingling of the birds and the airplane is in fact an optical effect, masking the …
Genetically Modified Salmon moves to Kitchen Table
Koert van MensvoortThe US Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered animal that people would eat — salmon that can grow at twice the normal …
Glamor & Oil
Koert van MensvoortIn response to the latest oil spill famed photographer Steven Meisel made a shoot for the Italian Vogue (the only fashion magazine in the world worth reading, really) that …
Grow-a-NanoRaptor
Koert van MensvoortNow here is an example of the fusion between the made and the born , most kids would crave for. Much better than the robotic dino toy. Designed by evolution! Hopefully this …
Half Life
Koert van MensvoortMeet the next species. Director David Lea's wondrous fantasy of remixed biodiversity after nuclear meltdown. Made for Greenpeace.
Hamster Powered Mobile Phonecharger
Michael KluverWe would call this a sustainable technology if only the average pet's carbon footprint wouldn't be comparable to that of an SUV .
HappyLife
Koert van MensvoortAs our everyday living spaces are packed with electronics and become increasingly sentient, we might one day wake up in a house that knows more about your family's state than you …
Harddrive on legs
Koert van MensvoortDrive Legs is a portable hard drive which stands up if liquid is spilled near it. Created by James Chambers , who is experimenting with giving products defense mechanisms to …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Logo landscape
JurrianAs you walk through the corporate jungle you notice that it is a hectic place, but sometimes it can be quiet and peaceful. Then you'll see pumas next to crocodiles and bunny …
Logorama
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkSometimes you come across something that is not directly related to Next Nature, but só well made that it deserves a place on this website. Logorama, a 16 minute animation by the …
Mad Cow Motorcycle
Koert van MensvoortWhat do you get when you combine bike parts, an electric motor, and a cow skeleton? Our peculiar object of the week was created by artist Billie Grace Lynn . Seen at Museum of Art …
Media Sunrise
Koert van MensvoortOr is it a sunset? Not sure. Ubiquitous corporature either way. Image by Mieke Gerritzen .
Medicinal All-Salt
Michael KluverDo you suffer from small health inconveniences and do you like to put salt on your morning egg? Why not combine the two? Medicinal All-Salt provides a low-dosage solution for …
Metal Rooster
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkFrom our reliable source – who wishes to remain anonymous – we know that this is exactly the same rooster that was used in the Philips WakeUp Light test , but only one year later. …
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 …
Nano Tattoo to Monitor Diabetes
Marco van BeersNow here is something for the NANO Supermarket : Massachusetts-based Draper Laboratories have developed a special injectable ink with nano–particles. This ink eventually could …
Nature is an Agreement
Tracy MetzNature is an agreement. Just like the nude beach. Here you keep your breasts and your crotch covered, There you drop everything and act like it is the most ordinary thing in the …
Nature Preservation: The Literal Version
Minke Kampman* warning: high doses of irony detected in this article * Method #01: Canning Promotional gift 'Nature in a can' complete with soil and bean plant seeds (from DKNY , 2010). Method …
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 #3: Koyaanisqatsi
Koert van MensvoortKoyaanisqatsi (1982) is a film with no actors, no storyline, and no dialogue. The only things we see are landscapes, images of cities, and people going about their regular lives. …
Outer-Space as Local-Space
Florian Conradi and Michelle ChristensenIn 1977, NASA launched Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, two unmanned interplanetary space probes that were sent out to explore the outer space. Aboard each was a record which intended to …
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 …
Recycled Island
Koert van MensvoortRecycled island is a research project on the potential of realizing a habitable floating island in the Pacific Ocean made from all the plastic waste that is momentarily floating …
Remote Control Mouse
Koert van MensvoortMind control for beginners: A mouse expressing ChR2 channels in its neurons starts running when it receives blue light in its motor cortex. Unsure what applications the …
Robo-fly
Arnoud van den HeuvelWaiter, there's a robot in my soup! Weighing only 60 milligrams, with a wingspan of three centimeters, robo-fly's tiny movements are modeled on those of a real fly. While much …
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 …
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 …
Sea Breacher
Arnoud van den HeuvelA relatively new kind of marine species is called "Seabreacher" . These watercraft vessels started appearing from 1997 and have been evolving at a rapid pace. Seabreachers enable …
Self-healing Surfaces
Arnoud van den HeuvelWhat if a scratch on your car door could heal itself, just like the human skin does? Engineers are working on a way to transfer the self-healing ability of the skin to surfaces …
Squamata headset dances with the Music
Koert van MensvoortInspired by body language of animals (in particular squamates and porcupines), designer Jop Japenga created a headphone with an adaptive skin that responds to the music played on …
Symphony of Science
Koert van MensvoortAs it is Sunday today, lets indulge in a scientific spiritual music video. Created by John Boswell . Thanks Finnigans Riverrun.
Technology vs Football: 4-4
Ties van de WerffSome matches remain interesting, even though they're predictable. Take the continuous battle between technology and football. Every time the stakes get high, such as at the World …
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 …
The Crossing of Species
Koert van MensvoortDesigner Bob de Graaf takes pleasure in collecting and combining objects from old nature & next nature in search for similarities. Surely a traditional biologist would not …
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 …
Twitwee Clock
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkHaroon Baig from Germany has figured out a way to key up the amount of 50+ Twitter addicts. This progressive nostalgic cuckoo device displays new tweets from any twitter stream or …
Virtual | Real pet
Minke KampmanIn the 70's we had the pet rocks that have gotten lost over the years in drawers and attics. The 90's gave us Tamagotchi's to look after, which we could reset if all else failed. …
What does Technology want?
Koert van MensvoortTechnologist, environmentalist and nextnature thinker avant la lettre Kevin Kelly , muses on what technology means in our lives – from its impact at the personal level to its …
When Dreams become a Commodity
Koert van MensvoortAs neuroscience progresses, we gain access to previously inaccessible and unexplored areas of the human mind. Consequentially the intricate processes in our brain are cultivated …
A bacteria of a different color
Allison GuyIn 2009, undergraduates at the University of Cambridge worked with scientists and artists to engineer E. coli into E. chromi , a new type of bacteria that secretes a range of …
Augmented Cat beats Dog
Koert van MensvoortSupersmart cat beats pitt-bull with a little help of an electric vacuum cleaning robot.
Backseat Driver
Natalie DixonThere's hardly a shortage of animal lovers following the trend site Coolhunter.net, often generating thousands of "likes" on their Facebook fan page for images of cutesy pugs and …
Birds Change Along with Us
MaikelMouraoA 'treasure in the trees' reveals the exchange of materials between man and animal. This beautiful house finch nest, made of natural resources and manmade garbage, demonstrates …
BitFriday - First Crash for Digital Currency
Allison GuyOn June 10, the digital currency Bitcoin lost 30% of its value in a few hours, dropping from US $28.92 to $20.01 per coin. Bitcoins are a largely untraceable form of money, …
Breeding QR codes
Koert van MensvoortYou look at the great dane and wonder what information the QR codes on its pelt might contain. You point your smart phone camera at the dog and realize you’ve been hit by a …
City Planning with Bright Bacteria
Allison GuyRenegade 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 …
City Rats Love Ethnic Food
Allison GuyCity rats, it seems, prefer the same foods that humans do: Greasy, fatty, sweet, and salty. Although rats are usually seen as the billy goats of city life, ready to chow down on …
Crickets Inspire New Sensitive Sensor
Stefan FinckenInspired 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 …
Did Nature Cease to Exist in the '60s?
Koert van MensvoortOur historical snippet of the moment is a Canadian television fragment from 1968 featuring a debate between Norman Mailer and Marshall McLuhan on the implications of media …
Get Vegetarian Teeth and Eat Less Meat
Koert van MensvoortWant to live a greener life? Eat less meat. Recently the UN appealed for a radical shift in diet , to improve individual health and ease conditions affecting the global …
Electric Topiary
Allison GuyHas this tree gone Pac-Man on the power lines? In truth, the slice through the side of the tree is the work of 'utility pruning.' Topiary was once determined on entirely aesthetic …
Evolution of the Chicken
Koert van MensvoortFrom Dinosaur to primitive bird to supermarket discount. Although chickens thrive as a species – in the sense that billions of them roam the earth bio-industry – we doubt if the …
Evolutionary Janitors
Allison GuyWe normally think of polluted water as the source of disease, not the cure for it. The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, affectionately known as the Super Fun Superfund , is one of the …
Exploring the Oceans of Plastic
Koert van MensvoortCaptain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – an endless floating waste of plastic trash. Now he's drawing …
Gamers Solve Enzyme Riddle
Natalie DixonIn 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 …
Games become punishment: Gold farming in prison
Allison GuyRemember the gold farmers in China who put in eye-straining hours to earn virtual money in World of Warcraft? Gold farming has now made the leap to the country's corrupt penal …
German Robots Destroy a Living Room
Allison GuyArtistic duo Robococo, aka Petra Gemeinboeck and Rob Saunders, have embedded a group of autonomous robots in the walls of a gallery. Wielding hammers and creepy electronic eyes, …
Hallucinogenic Reindeer Moments
Natalie DixonCan art change perceptions more than drugs? An art project which was on show in Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof allowed 12 free-roaming reindeer in the former railway station creating …
Michael Najjar – High Altitude
Koert van MensvoortThe rock formations in the High Altitude photo series don't exist physically, yet they are very present in our society of simulations . The photos visualize the development of the …
Hungry Birds
TimoA while ago I wrote a post about birds which tried to adapt to the city by singing louder and in different tones than before. Now it seems the birds have taken this adaptation to …
Hunter-Gatherer
Koert van MensvoortDifferent totems, same rituals. Peculiar image of the week by Walter Robinson .
Is it a Plane? Is it a Bird?
Koert van MensvoortThe zoomorphic designers of Festo , whom you might know from the robot penguins and a robotic elephant trunk , now managed to decipher the flight of birds. Their prototype is …
Is that a hamster in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?
Natalie DixonMobile phones may be the most affective technology we own but researchers at the Design Research Lab in Berlin have taken this notion to its most outlandish limit. Their cellular …
Let the Algorithms Roam Free
Bastiaan EkelerIn this TED talk, Kevin Slavin explains how computer algorithms are breaking free of their virtual habitats and changing the physical world to their liking. Through algorithms, …
![Visual of Manko & Soup [#6]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2011/manko-soup-6/b9aa51ad29-1602632753/manco-7-868x486.jpg)
Manko & Soup [#6]
Aston RevolaWhen Nada returned as promised with a small bowl of soup in her hands, Manko was sitting upright with a grumbling stomach. Even now that Manko could see normal again, Nada's hair …
Mapping the Utilisphere
Allison GuyEarth has had a geosphere, atmosphere and biosphere for a few billion years. Only within the last several thousand years has earth gained a global noosphere, the intangible …
Meet the New Meat
Koert van MensvoortWhat do you think of lab-grown meat? "Yuck" might be your first reaction. One day, however, it could become the environmentally friendly alternative for breeding cows and pigs for …
My Fetal Pony: Neoteny in Girls' Toys
Allison GuyIt's no secret that Mickey Mouse has evolved in response to consumer pressures. Once a violent river-rat, he became the boy scout of rodents with good looks to match. Steven Jay …
Natural Car Alarms
Allison GuyWhile hiking in Trinidad, artist Nina Katchadourian was struck by the similarity of bird calls to car alarms. One inspires us to poetry, the other makes us groan and pull the …
Nature will Remember
Gabi RasIn this commercial, the sheep knows that the Peugeot has been made dirty by the splashing mud. Then it proceeds by cleaning it. Slogan: Nature will remember. We know that this …
Negative Islands
Allison GuyRecent flooding along the Mississippi River has broken records first set 70 years ago. As always, it's hard to attribute local weather to global patterns, but the heavier rainfall …
Next Nature Fun Pack
Sleek, stylish and thought-provoking, our Fun Pack is the perfect gift for the Next Nature lover in your life . Each set includes the Next Nature book, Real Nature is Not Green …
Next Nature Kills
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkToday, 122 years ago, on 13 september 1899, Henry Bliss became the first pedestrian known to be killed by an automobile in North America. Although not the first, he was certainly …
Next Nature lecture: Gardening Complexity
Koert van MensvoortNo, the peculiar image above was not created by an in vitro fertilized child from the combined DNA of Escher, Mondrian and Pollock, but rather by 21th century designer Remco van …
Parks & Planes
Natalie DixonAlong with a library and museum, Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport recently added a park to its list of attractions. Officially opened by Princess Irene, the first Airport Park in the …
Pixelated Nature
Koert van MensvoortWhat happens if your childhood experience of your environment has been solely through video games? According to artist Shawn Smith, "pixels became a sort of map from which to …
Playing with Microbes – Biotic Games
Koert van MensvoortStanford researchers are developing 'biotic games' involving paramecia and other living organisms. So far, they have created three games that mimic classic video games. The …
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 …
Progressive Nostalgic Message Service
Koert van MensvoortDigital pigeon post its private, peaceful, none-polluting and secure. Peculiar image of the week. Via Rising Tensions . Thanks Marco .
Protei, the Sail Bot that Cleans Up Oil
Allison GuyProtei is a sailing robot that's designed to clean up oil spills without human assistance. After sailing upwind, the bot drifts downwind, zigg-zagging across the surface to absorb …
Rule #1: Any Association that Can be Made, Will be Made
NextNature.netFor other entries and an introduction to the 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design, click here. People have evolutionarily built-in mechanisms that help us to …
Skyscrapers for Pandora
Erik SwaagstraWe've previously featured architecture that imitates nature by opening its walls like a flower , or drifting like a cloud . However, maybe this is not imitation enough. The next …
SMS Skyscrapers
Koert van MensvoortI reckoned Amsterdam did not have any sky scrapers, but I guess I wasn't looking through the right lenses. This sms-traffic Amsterdam skyline – made on new years eve 2007 – was …
The Afterlife of PIG 05049
Allison GuyChristien Meindertsma spent three years tracking down every product made from a single pig. Pork made a showing, but the more strange goods were "ammunition, medicine, photo …
The Amazing Technicolor Dream Ant
Allison GuyA scientist in Mysore, India has figured out how to color-code his backyard ants. Mohamed Babu's wife noticed that the ants' abdomens turned white after drinking milk, so it was …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Timon and Pumbaa
Koert van MensvoortMore real than you think. Peculiar image of the week. Via . Thanks Ton .
Traditional Thanksgiving Meat
Marco van BeersFood technology in the overdrive: Pork molded in the shape of a piglet.
Transgenic Jell-O, more human than ever!
Allison GuyThe American Chemical Society has announced a new method of producing gelatin that sounds like good news for cannibals and the canni-curious. Researchers are able to create …
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 …
Urban Birds
TimoIt's been known for a while that birds increase their singing volume to make themselves heard in the big city, but recent studies show that the city birds might even be evolving …
Video Game Logic Wins This Round
Allison GuyAdapting video games to real life has become a fairly common, jokey way of exploring the games' surreal aspects. I saw kids with balloons playing Mario Kart on my college campus, …
Voodoo Phone
Koert van MensvoortJapanese professor Hiroshi Ishiguro from Osaka University has quite a track record of threading the uncanny valley. Remember his Doppelgänger Robot and Geminoid Female ? His …
What Robots dream of...
Koert van MensvoortYou may think it's a cliché, but deep down inside robots want to be birds and fly high in the sky. Hooray for the good people of Festo , that demonstrate at TED how they turn the …
When Siri met Siri…
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkLike with pets and babies, we seem to like it when devices mimic our behaviour and social patterns. In the process of domesticating technology, we teach products to behave like …
Who Owns the Rights to a Toucan?
Allison GuyKellogg, the proud copyright holders of Toucan Sam, recently asked a the Mayan Archeology Initiative to reconsider their logo . Despite the fact that the two birds have entirely …
Why Do We Love Pandas?
Natalie DixonThey remind us of ourselves We love their dexterity - thanks partly to that "pseudo thumb", which functions as a sixth digit. It's in the eyes We love their big eyes because it …
Why Handwriting Must Die
Koert van MensvoortAssociate professor Anne Trubek argues that handwriting will soon be history , because writing words by hand is a technology that's just too slow for our times, and our minds. A …
A Space-Faring Backup for Earth's Biota
Allison GuyElon Musk, the chief executive of spacecraft company SpaceX, believes we need to reinvigorate popular interest in space colonization, not just to boldly go where no man has gone …
Adorably Endangered Kitten Born to Domestic Cat Surrogate
Allison Guy"Crystal", an endangered black-footed cat , was recently born to a domestic cat surrogate at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species . The birth was achieved using a …
Algae in the Supermarket
JenniferAs mentioned earlier , the world seems obsessed with algae. Not limited to producing light or energy , algae has also found its way to our plate as a new vegetable, and maybe …
Amazon Tribe lacks concept of Time
Koert van MensvoortA study, in Language and Cognition has shown that time does not exist as a separate concept for the Brazilian Amondawa – an Amazon tribe first contacted by the outside world in …
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.
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 …
Beluga Whale makes Human-like Sounds
SelbyResearchers in the US have been shocked to discover a beluga whale whose vocalisations were remarkably close to human speech.
Bio-engineered Football
Marco van BeersWith the knowledge that footballs were once made of pig's bladder and that in 2006 the first artificial bladder was transplanted into a patient, artist John O’Shea designed the …
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 …
Braille 2.0
Jeroen van PeltText for blind people using the Braille alphabet has been around for some time. But instead of making separate books for the visually impaired, why not change the way we all read? …
Brain Implant Restores Memory to Cocaine-Addled Monkeys
Allison GuyA team of researchers from three universities have succeeded in creating the first device that boosts the brain power of primates. In the study, five rhesus macaques were trained …
Bunny Doesn't Grow on Trees
Allison GuyHaving trouble getting the kids to eat their fruits and vegetables? Try turning their 5-a-day into a trendy, collectible toy. We've seen Buddha fruit and square watermelons …
Christian Schwägerl - Riding the Anthropocene
Koert van MensvoortChristian Schwägerl , freelance journalist and biologist, author of the book The Anthropocene: The Human Era and How It Shapes Our Planet , introduces us into the Anthropocene , a …
Complete Computer Simulation of a Bacterium Holds Hope for Medicine
Allison GuyResearchers at Stanford and the J. Craig Venter Institute recently created the first complete computer model of an organism. The simulation models the genome and life processes …
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 …
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 …
Eating In-Vitro: Kitchen Meat Incubator
Koert van MensvoortThe Kitchen Meat Incubator does for home cooking what the electronic synthesizer did for the home musician. It provides its users with a set of pre-programmed samples that can be …
End of Life Care Machine
Marco van BeersDesigner, artist and engineer Dan Chen has developed the ' End of Life Care Machine ', a machine designed to guide and comfort dying patients with a carefully scripted message. …
Enjoy Udder Milk
Koert van MensvoortImaginary infomercial on the hypernatural udder cows, optimized for milk production
Featured Page #01: Hypernature
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDuring the coming weeks, we will present a selection of our favourite pages from the Next Nature book . To kick the series off, we’ll start with a spread about hypernature; the …
Featured Page #02: Google Nature
NextNature.netDuring the coming weeks, we will present a selection of our favourite pages from the Next Nature book . This week the second one in this series: Google Nature. Imagine you are an …
Featured Page #08: McLuhan’s Tweets
NextNature.netDuring the coming weeks, we present a selection of our favorite pages from the Next Nature book . This week a page that is an homage to Marshall McLuhan, who is one of the most …
Fly like a Bird? Get Human Birdwings
Koert van MensvoortDutch mechanical-engineer Jarnos Smeets dreams of flying like bird. Nothing new really, many people have had this dream for ages. Yet being an engineer and all, Jarnos is seriously propelling his dream towards a reality.
Frozen Coral Sperm Holds Promise in a Boiling World
Allison GuyLife is bleak and bleached for many of the world's corals. Fatal bleaching events triggered by warming seas have become common from the Caribbean to Australia. More worrying still …
Frying Nemo
Koert van MensvoortImage consumption in the overdrive. Peculiar image of the week. Created by Erin Murphy, Victoria Bellavia, Yong Jun Lee & Sanggun Park . Thanks Jeroen van der Meij.
Gangnam Autonomy
Arnoud van den Heuvel"A robot is a mechanical apparatus designed to do the work of a man. Its components are usually electro-mechanical and are guided by a computer program or electronic circuitry. By …
Get into Buckminster Fuller
Koert van Mensvoort58:10 minute interview with polymath & nextnature thinker avant la lettre Buckminister Fuller.
Growing Plants in the Dark
Allison GuyWhile sunlight contains all colors, the dominant type of chlorophyll in plants only needs purple light to function. This simple fact has big implications for the future of …
Happy Meat
Koert van MensvoortThe Happy Meat project combines the basic principles of the meat-industry and the toy-industry in an uncanny hybrid.
Hermit Crabs Can Live Like Kings Again
Marco van BeersThanks to the collaboration between Makerbot and TeamTeamUsa new biodegradable shells are printed for hermit crabs.
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 …
How To Grow Your Own Sneaker
Koert van MensvoortRaymond Ong creates uniquely customized fish leather by transferring the DNA of existing animal patterns on the skin of stingray fishes. This leather is then used to produce highly personalized sneakers.
Hybrid Hummer
Koert van MensvoortThere is something lustrous about a hummer pulled by horses. Peculiar image of the week.
Hybrid Meat
JenniferOn society's search to becoming a meatless one, several new kinds of 'meat' pop up in the food industry. From so called 'hybrid' meatballs, to 'the chicken that isn't', when will …
Ice Cream Cones Made from Ice Cream, and Other Wikicells
Allison GuyPlastic is a part of the earth's ecosystem , but it's a part that no one wants. At Harvard, scientists are looking to replace single-use plastic bottles, plates, and cups with …
IKEA Lamp Catches Elephantiasis Virus
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkHave you heard of Elephantiasis? It is a disease caused by microscopic parasitic worms that cause a thickening of the skin and underlying tissues. The disease typically occurs in …
Internet Traffic is now 51% Non-Human
Koert van MensvoortSo you thought the Internet was made by and for people? Think again. A study by Incapsula , a provider of cloud-based security for web sites (mind you where this data comes from), …
iPhone Entertainment for Pets
Lisa van der VoortChildren can be effortlessly entertained for hours thanks to tablet and smartphone games, but these technologies also provide a solution for the lazy pet owner. More videos of …
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 …
Jellyfish built from Rat Cells
Koert van MensvoortAnother 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 …
Making Deserts Flourish
Simone KochUsing only plastic sheets and an irrigation-nutrient system, a Japanese researcher has found a way to change agriculture as we know it. Professor Yuichi Mori argues in his talk at …
Mark Post - Meet the New Meat
Koert van MensvoortAccording to professor Mark Post, lab-grown meat could become the environmentally friendly alternative for breeding cows and pigs for meat consumption. Watch his talk!
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 …
Meat the Future
Koert van MensvoortThis promotional video for in-vitro meat was brought to you by the bureau for in-vitro meat promotion students of the Beckmans College of Design .
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 …
Mul & De Mul – God's Browser
Koert van MensvoortPhilosopher and professor Jos de Mu l and media artist Geert Mul set out to visualize the Gods Browser in a unique art-science collaboration. The result is a conceptual poem of …
Nano Product: Glo-Doo
NextNature.netDog feces are an unsightly blemish on city streets. With Glo-Doo, dog food laced with bioluminescent bacteria transforms each pile into an appealing way to light up the night. As …
Nano Product: Honest Egg
NextNature.netDo away with dishonest health claims for eggs and uncertain promises of organic, free-range hens. With eggshells that change color according to hormones, medicines, and nutrients, …
NANO Supermarket Jury Report 2012
NextNature.netAfter the successful introduction of the NANO Supermarket in 2010 it became even more clear that the contest and the presented results produced discussions and many challenges to …
Nature Disappears from Childrens' Books
Allison GuyIn an analysis of Caldecott Medal winning children's books, sociologist Allen Williams recently discovered that depictions of nature have dramatically declined from 1938 to …
Pantone SkinTone
Rolf CoppensShould made-to-order babies become a reality in the near future, one piece of the design puzzle has been solved now Pantone has release their SkinTone system. Indexing 110 skin …
Playing With Pigs
Lisa van der VoortBesides children and pets , it turns out that pigs are also attracted to interactive interfaces. Pig Chase is a computer game in which pigs and people can play together. The aim …
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 …
Robots Invade Stores to Steal Our Jobs
Allison GuyThere's a new threat to the world's unemployed. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a robot that helps to organize shop inventories, making that trip to the …
Rule #5: Consider Zoomorphism as an Alternative
NextNature.netFor past entries and an introduction to the 11 Golden Rules of Anthropomorphism and Design, click here. When a product imitates animal behavior, the strict social rules …
Salad Dress
Koert van MensvoortPush your organic-sustainable-veggie-lifestyle in the overdrive with the Salad Dress.
Should I be Afraid of...
Koert van MensvoortFor doom-mongers delight, the Berlin-based design studio Bold Futures made a handy interactive graph of the fatal disasters that might snuff us.
Surviving Progress
Koert van MensvoortMontreal filmmakers Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks’ documentary feature, Surviving Progress presents the story of human advancement and reveals the risk of running the 21st …
LowLine Puts Park Beneath New York
Allison GuyDeep below bustling, noisy Delancy Street in Manhattan lies the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal, a building abandoned in 1948. This terminal is just one of many tunnels and …
The Sound of Silence? An Aircraft Engine.
Allison GuySilence is a thing of the past. Just as no place has been left untouched by climate change, there is no place on earth that is not 'polluted' by the sounds of planes, ships, and …
Christien Meindertsma – Visualizing the Pig Farm
Koert van MensvoortChristien Meindertsma was surprised by the unrealistic nostalgic visualizations of farms on children's coloring plates. She decided to create a more realistic coloring plate of the pig farm.
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, …
We want you to be Radically Open
Koert van MensvoortCan you do it? Do finish your lunch before clicking the link – or you might vaporise. The video was made by Jason Silva for the ongoing TEDGlobal 2012 which has Radical Openness …
Where Be Dragons? Try Your Instinctual Fear of Snakes
Allison GuyThis last Monday rang in the Chinese Year of the Dragon. Not restricted just to the benevolent, snake-like creature of Chinese mythology, or to the greedy, princess-stealing …
Where Cars are Born
Koert van MensvoortFrench photographer Stéphane Couturier provides us with an intimate peek inside the womb of a Toyota car factory north of Paris, France. The highly abstract photos of car parts, …
Who will Question Bio-Engineering?
Koert van MensvoortBioethicist Paul Root Wolpe presents a parade of recent bio-engineering experiments, from glowing monkeys , to genetically boosted salmon , to cyborg insects . He asks: isn't 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 …
Yes, There Is Now a TV Channel Just for Dogs
Allison GuyDogTV , a new TV channel available in the US, offers 24/7 programming for the modern dog. There's busy streets, computer-animated moths and frolicking, cross-breed hounds. The …
33% of All Seafood in the United States Is Fraudulently Labeled
Allison GuyA new study from the marine conservation group Oceana reveals that a full one-third of seafood across the US is mislabeled. Not surprisingly, the most expensive fish is also the …
3D Pizza Printer for Astronauts
Alessia AndreottiPrintable pizza. The next big food innovation after sliced bread.
"Algae Opera" Nourishes Algae with a Singer's Breath
Silvia CelibertiAre you blessed with a Maria Callas kind of voice? If, like us, you don't go beyond croaking the occasional " I want to break free" in the shower, watch out. If the artists of …
Anthropo-scene #4: Longing for Nature
ChristianWhat one ugly overpass in Berlin reveals about our attitudes towards nature.
Anthropo-scene #5: Industrial Wilderness
ChristianOld ironworks in Germany have become more natural than "real" nature.
Anthropo-scene #6: Military Nature
ChristianMilitary action accidentally restores a lost ecosystem.
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".
Artist Creates Portraits of Strangers Using DNA in Discarded Hair
Jiwon KimHeather Dewey-Hagborg just needs a strand of your hair to know what you look like.
Gathering Electricity from the Atmosphere
Stephen Perry"Atmospheric energy" has the power to revolutionize the production of electricity.
Microchips Learn to Repair Themselves
Daniel BlokbergenTaking a cue from the human brain, a new microchip can rewire itself after damage.
Bionic man
Marco van BeersAn showcase of what we are currently capable of installing in human beings.
Bird Sounds Visualised
Arnoud van den HeuvelMade to beat the real thing. By digital artist Andy Thomas .
Birdhouse Sweet Birdhouse
Alessia Andreotti3D printer company MakerBot recently launched a contest inviting designers to create the birdhouse of the future. The winner is The American Craftsman Bungalow by Brent J. …
Care for a Meat Flower Amuse?
Koert van MensvoortVegetarian food products typically mimic existing meat products. The meat flower reverses this principle.
Cavemen Used 'Facebook' Already
Koert van MensvoortScientists claim to have discovered a “prehistoric version of Facebook” used by ancient tribes to communicate with each other.
Chinese Whisper Challenge Pits Man Against Machine
Jort BandEver played "telephone" or "chinese whispers" as a kid? Now, you can pit your speech recognition skills against a computer.
Pick Pig - Name Pig - Love Pig - Eat Pig
Stephen PerryIn a time of all-horse hamburgers and E. coli outbreaks, food provenance has become a huge issue. Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the lack of traceability within the …
Cliff Swallows Are Evolving to Avoid Cars
Allison GuyCliff swallows, as their name suggests, like to build nests on cliffs and other rocky outcroppings. They also like building their nests on bridges and overpasses, and sunbathe on …
Co-Evolving with Technology
Koert van MensvoortLooking at this nextnatural comic, our co-evolutionary relationship with technology might need some work.
Cockroach Farms Do Big Business for Food and Pharmaceuticals
Allison GuyBig bugs make big bucks for Chinese farmers turning to roach ranching.
Colorado Town votes on License to Hunt Drones
Koert van MensvoortDrones are the mosquitoes of the 21st century. A small town in Colorado will be voting on an ordinance for drone hunting licenses for shooting down the wild robotics.
Computer Algorithms Are Already Replacing Human Journalists
Allison GuyWill writing software eventually replace journalists?
Computer Teaches Itself to Play Games
Geert van den BoogaartAn algorithm observes human players to learn how to beat Super Mario Bros.
Control Your Mobile Phone or Tablet Directly from Your Brain
Marije WillemsenSamsung is working on a brain interface that lets you go truly hands-free with your phone.
Cow Poower! Bacteria Turn Poo into Fuel
Silvia CelibertiFarmers in the US are producing fuel and high-quality fertilizer from their cows' manure.
Now Dads Can Experience Pregnancy Too
Alessia AndreottiA new device replicates the kicking and moving of a baby inside a mother's womb.
Death to all Bees
Dr NaturalWatch this propaganda film and you'll understand why. Share it and spread the word!
Deliver us from Digital Bluntness
Stephen PerryPeoples attitudes online are wholly different from their behaviours in real life
Disgusting, these Stingray Sneakers
Koert van MensvoortDutch NRC features a wonderful article today on our online film project The Rise & Fall of Rayfish Footwear.
Drones Swarm While We Sleep
Koert van MensvoortMesmerizing drone ballet from Kmel Robotics and Lexus.
Electric Skin Could Allow Robots to Feel
Koert van MensvoortA new kind of piezotronic transistor mesh could make for robotic skin that’s as sensitive as your own is, covered in thousands of tiny mechanical hairs.
Empathy for the Device
Robin PohlKate Darling argues that society needs to update its ethical landscape to include thinking machines.
Tattoos that Make Everyone a Product
Alice FumeyQR and barcode tattoos turn an artist's body into a business card.
Bionic Eye: Limited Vision to the Blind
Marco van BeersA new implant lets blind people see letters, crosswalks and people.
First Monkey Named after a Website
Koert van MensvoortThe honor of naming this new monkey was auctioned off to raise funds. The monkey is now know as the Goldenpalace.com Titi.
Food Familiarization #1: Semantic Tricks
Allison GuyWhen does a rose not smell as sweet? When it's a Patagonian toothfish.
Food Simulator to Fulfill the Desire to Eat
Alessia AndreottiTwo master's students have created a speculative device to simulate the sensations of eating.
Free Electricity from the Technosphere
Teije OudshoornScientists learn how to harvest electricity from radio waves.
Buckle up for Black Sky Thinking
Koert van MensvoortHow can we anticipate what happens after the technological singularity?
Google Travels to a Place in Your Memory
Insoo HwangGoogle Maps preserves a place that's too dangerous to visit.
Google Wants to Tattoo a Phone Onto Your Throat
Jonathon MarkowskiGoogle has just submitted a patent for lie-detecting throat tattoo that can also make calls.
Hate Babies? Why Not Give Birth to an Endangered Species?
Allison GuySolving the world's population crisis by replacing human infants with aquatic creatures.
How Much is a Polar Bear Worth?
Jonathon MarkowskiPolar bears bring only $9 million to the Canadian economy, but citizens put their collective value at $6.3 billion. Why?
How to Turn Skin Cells into a Baby
Jonathon MarkowskiA stem cell experiment with mice may one day mean that same-sex couples could have bio children.
Interview: Jason Silva, Media Artist and Curator of Awe-Inspiring Ideas
Alessia AndreottiMedia artist, filmmaker and wonderjunkie Jason Silva talks about technological evolution and why humans are gods with anuses.
Invasive Sushi from Invasive Species
Allison GuyChef Bun Lai of Miya's Sushi in New Haven, Connecticut, has a cheeky solution to invasive species: he eats them. His menu regularly features lionfish and Asian shore crabs, …
Jellyfish Ice Cream Glows When Licked
Alessia Andreotti$220 ice cream glows thanks to synthetic bioluminescent proteins derived from jellyfish.
Join the Buckminster Fuller Challenge
Koert van MensvoortPick up your $100,000 to materialize your revolutionary vision. This is not a spam message.
Manmade Global Warming Is at Least 15,000 Years Old
Allison GuyHow the extinction of mammoths changed the atmosphere.
Maya YogHurt: Fermented Drink Made with Human Lactic Acid
Jiwon KimArtist Maja Smrekar modified yeast with her own DNA to produce human lactic acid.
Meet The Tongue Parasite
Koert van MensvoortIf you're a fish, and want to keep your original tongue, better keep your mouth closed.
Modern Cave Painting
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkPrimitive man lived in caves. He used the surface of these caves as a canvas (*) to make representations of the things that surrounded him: animals and hunting, stories of magic …
Modifying Milk and Glowing Livestock
Emilija MarinkovicGenetically modified glowing sheep make it harder to count sheep at night.
Moments in Meat History Part I - Origins of Meat-eating and Hunting
Jonathon MarkowskiAbout 4 or 5 million years ago, major changes in the Earth's climate brought about grassland regions where giant mammals could graze.
Moments in Meat History Part II- The Last Mammoths
Jonathon MarkowskiThe Mammoth was the last of the giant land mammals of the Pleistocene era.
Moments in Meat History Part V- Industrialization of Farming
Jonathon MarkowskiIn 1876, the first cattle feedlot was established near Chicago.
Moments in Meat History Part VII - Factory Farming
Jonathon MarkowskiIn the 1950s, the transition towards what is now known as factory farming picked up speed with farmers.
Mushrooms to Grow Surfboards, Shoes, and Even Your House
Allison GuyMushrooms are set to replace petroleum-based packaging... and a lot of other things too.
Nanosponges "Soak Up" Toxins and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Jordy RooijakkersNano-scale sponges show promise for defeating a variety of bacteria and toxins.
New York's Dogs Hunt for Dangerous Game: City Rats
Allison GuyA society of dog owners who have no problem giving free reign to their pets' killer instincts.
"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 …
Next Nature TEDx Talk in Budapest
NextNature.netIndulge in the Next Nature stump speech at TEDx from Dr. Van Mensvoort
Offshore Wind Farms Generate Their Own Microclimates
Patty ChanAs we strive to milk all available energy from nature, we not only harvest but alter our surroundings in the process. By mixing the warm sea air with cooler air above, offshore …
Painting with Toxic Runoff
Allison GuyA professor and an artist have invented a method to manufacture paint from acid mine runoff.
Pubic Lice (Possibly) Going Extinct Due to Brazilian Waxing
Allison GuyWith each swipe of the razor or rip of the waxing strip, the world has unwittingly been massacring one of its most familiar species. In what may be the first extinction caused by …
Rollin' Safari
Arnoud van den HeuvelAssuming that true wildlife hàs gone extinct... Who needs the real thing when you can have a Next Safari ? Let's go and hunt for the plastic birds on the beach or watch genuine …
Rubber Duck XL: the Bath is Over
Alessia AndreottiThe gigantic rubber duck created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman floated on Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, with the island skyline in the background. The XL duck showed up in …
Scientists Implant False Memory in Mice
Alessia AndreottiManipulations of the mind that were once the terrain of futuristic fantasy are now one step closer to becoming reality. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology …
Swans Float through Flooded Streets
Allison GuyA raft of swans blithely adopts an artificial habitat.
The Anatomy of Mickey Mouse
Koert van MensvoortFinally a full anatomical model of the renowned comic figure.
The Angry Bird Spotters Guide
Koert van MensvoortWhy are these birds so angry? Probably because they don't appear in the scientific literature.
The Artificial Touch-Sensitive Hand
Alessia AndreottiRestoring the sense of touch with an artificial hand, using a brain interface.
The birth of the artificial womb
Alessia AndreottiResearchers in Tokyo have developed an artificial womb (for goats).
The Evolution of the Treble Clef
Allison GuyNongenetic evolution strikes again in the elaborate shape of the treble clef.
The Future of Solar Power? Snail Teeth!
Marco van BeersThe gumboot chiton snail produces the hardest biomineral known on earth - and it may hold the secret to better nanotechnology.
The Interspecies Internet
Koert van MensvoortCould the internet be expanded to include sentient species like apes, dolphins and elephants?
The Monkey Named After a Website
Allison GuyThis Bolivian monkey's name is also an ad for online gambling.
The Pulsating Heart of Tokyo
Alessia AndreottiAn astounding tangle of multi-colored water flowing throughout 18 arteries represents what happens every day in the pulsating heart of Tokyo. This is how Takatsugu Kuriyama , from …
The Sci-Fi Prehistory of "Victimless" Meat
Allison GuyA (very) short history of a century's worth of "disembodied" meat in fiction.
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.
The Technium
Koert van MensvoortBuckle up for another cinematic espresso shot from our favorite performance philosopher Jason Silva.
The Twitter Tooth Implant Becomes a Reality (Again)
Allison GuyAn implant equipped with an accelerometer can tell when you're chewing, chatting, smoking or sipping.
The World Responds to Bitcoin
Rick Dutour GeerlingFrom small stores to the US government, what the world thinks of bitcoin.
Tree Caught up in the Matrix
Koert van MensvoortImagine how this tree must feel wondering "what is the Matrix?"
Tykkään or En tykkää? Digital Voting Takes to the Streets
Silvia CelibertiHelsinki tested out a Facebook-like interface to get public opinion on a new construction project.
Why Are Lobsters Thriving in Maine?
Allison GuyThe surprising - and predictably depressing - reasons why lobster stocks are booming.
Work Out Like the Flintstones
Alessia AndreottiThe Paleo workout replicates the fitness regimen of our caveman ancestors.
World's Worst Job? Being a Human Robot at Amazon's Fulfillment Center
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkWorkers are completely controlled by algorithms in Amazon's fulfillment center
Acoustic Instrument That Sounds Digital
Francesca BarchiesiYaybahar is an acoustic instrument that emits sounds like a music synthesizer.
Anti-Drone Tent
Koert van MensvoortAnti Drone Tent is a small construction of emergency blankets that blocks infrared sensing, making it invisible to drones.
Artificial Cells Built From Silicon
Alessia AndreottiScientists designed artificial cells built from silicon, able to copy basic functions of life.
Balloon-Powered Internet For Everyone
Alessia AndreottiProject Loon by Google has the mission of providing Internet access to rural and remote areas, with a hot air balloon network.
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.
Binary Code Able to Act Like DNA
Alessia AndreottiThere is a similarity between strings of binary and strands of organic DNA: they both carry actionable information encoded into reconfigurable symbols. Using nature’s biodiversity …
Bionic Hand with Real Sense of Touch
Mateja VidakovicLifeHand 2: a prosthetic hand that infers the ability to feel rudimentary shapes and forms by touch.
Blaming Car Technology for Dumb Drivers
Alessia AndreottiCars increasingly rely on technology designed to make driving easier and safer. But are these improvements creating less-skilled drivers?
BrainDriver: the Mind Controlled Car
Alessia AndreottiImagine you could drive your car using only your thoughts. It is now possible!
Bugs Developed Immunity to GMO Corn
Alessia AndreottiThe Western Corn Rootworm has evolved to eat genetically engineered corn, designed to kill it.
Camouflaged Ships
Robin BergmanThese unbelievably rich and dazzling graphics were made to avoid enemy attack.
Cat-like Sensitive Whiskers for Robots
Alessia AndreottiElectronic whiskers put sensitive catlike sensors on robots.
Dissected Motorcycle
Koert van MensvoortThe dissected motorcycle learns us that, like in old nature, much of the inner workings of next nature are occluded to us.
Drone Crash
Lotte BiesheuvelDuring a triathlon ace a drone operated by a local photographer hit one of the athletes.
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.
Faraday Tent
Koert van MensvoortWhile in old nature people build shelters to protect themselves from natural forces like wind and rain, today one has to protect oneself from nextnatural forces.
Glow in the Dark Trees
Lotte BiesheuvelDaan Roosegaarde is exploring possibilities to replace streetlights with luminous trees.
Google Street View Camel
Alessia AndreottiMost of the images for Google Street View are collected with a car, but for the first time, the task has been given to a camel.
Graffiti Drones
Robin BergmanLast month graffiti artist Katsu presented his graffiti drone called the ‘’spray copter’’.
Hemihelix: A New Geometric Shape
Alessia AndreottiRubber band distortions lead to discovery of a new shape called hemihelix.
High Frequency Trading Visualized
Koert van MensvoortOur peculiar image of the week is titled "High Frequency Captured on the Surface of Augmented Objects" by Ryota Matsumoto , Mixed Media 140718 110cmx85cm.
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.
Human Workers Get Increasingly Obsolete
Alessia AndreottiRobots are coming to replace humans at work, are they a real threat to the world’s unemployed?
Indomitable Flock of Balloons Got Wild
Francesca Barchiesi1.5 million balloons were released in once to create a spectacular show becoming uncontrollable and dangerous.
Learning Circuits While Playing With Clay
Robin BergmanKids learn the basics of electric circuits while playing with clay.
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 …
Lonely Sculpture Your Next Tinder Match?
Koert van MensvoortTinder users beware: somewhere out there a mechanical finger is surfing the popular dating smartphone app. This could be your next match.
Making Seawater Drinkable with Nanotech
Robin BergmanFiltering sea water to drinkable fresh water is no longer science fiction.
Marine Plastic Creatures
Alessia AndreottiPhotographer Kim Preston transforms everyday household plastic objects into sea creatures.
Modern Society Contradictions
Alessia AndreottiPawel Kuczynski portraits the contradictions of today’s world.
Monster Machine Swallows Tree in 15 Sec
Koert van Mensvoort15 seconds, that is the time it takes the mulcher monster to consume a 9 meter-tall, mature spruce – starting at the top, landing at the bottom.
NANO Supermarket Best Product 2014
Alessia AndreottiA jury of design and science experts awarded the best NANO Supermarket product a € 2.500 prize.
Nature Learned to Turn Plastic into Rocks
Alessia AndreottiPlastic can fuse with rocks to form a new material: plastiglomerate.
Need to Unplug? There is an App for that
Koert van MensvoortAt times it seems we serve our technology as much as it serves us. The OFFTIME App wants to save us from our own devices.
New Plant Paradigms
Alessia AndreottiIn this approaching era, what might be biologically possible for plants?
OpenWorm: The First Digital Organism
Alessia AndreottiThe first digital life form is an interactive worm based on its real biology.
Our Tribal Gut Bacteria Are Disappearing (And Why We're Getting Fat)
Allison GuyHealthy gut bacteria may hold the key to weight loss – but only isolated communities may preserve "natural" intestinal biomes.
Phone Case Modeled After a Dead Animal
Alessia AndreottiJapanese designed a phone case using the dead carcass of a crustacean as model.
Plastic Pollution Solution
Lotte BiesheuvelIs there a possibility to clean up the oceans from plastic pollution?
Razorius Gilletus Flexball Subspecies
Koert van MensvoortThe latest subspecies in the Razorius line is the Razorius Gilletus Flexball. While Gillete proclaims they reinvented shaving, others argue Gillette's new razor is everything that's wrong with America.
Razorius Gilletus Gold Plastic
Koert van MensvoortLike the exorbitant feathers of the peacock, which only function is to aesthetically stand out amid its competitors, this new species of Razorius Gilletus only differs from its predecessor aesthetically.
Recovering Phosphorus from Wastewater
Julia WeberResearchers found a technology that allows to recover valuable substances from wastewater.
Reducing Plastic Bags by 80%
Julia WeberThe EU Commission will hopefully reduce the consumption of disposable plastic bags within 5 years by 80%.
Reinventing Nature with Synthetic Biology
Alessia AndreottiBioengineer Drew Endy shares his idea of biology as a precision manufacturer that could potentially transform civilization as we know it.
Retro-Futuristic Smartwatch
Alessia AndreottiIn 1981 the idea of what we call smartwatch was nothing more than a funny joke.
Retro Robot Band
Alessia AndreottiThe '50s robot band, Le Trio Fantastique, is exemplary of human distant longing for technology that integrates with our body and senses, to the point of taking our place!
Robot Swarm that can form any Shape
Koert van MensvoortMaybe in the future swarms of robots could help cleaning oil spills, provide immediate emergency help at a disaster or guide millions of self driving cars.
Robots Are Not Supposed To Think
Koert van MensvoortEmpathy for Robots. May cause feelings of Anthropomorphobia.
Spider Silk will be Commercialized in 2015
Julia WeberCompany AMSilk will commercialize spider silk in 2015.
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.
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.
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.
The Earth As You've Never Seen It Before
Alessia AndreottiBreathtaking satellite images that will change how you see the World.
The First Man Made Leaf Looks like a Leaf
Koert van MensvoortJulian Melchiorri created a synthetic biological leaf that absorbs water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen just like a plant.
The Flying Car
Alessia AndreottiFrom automobile to airplane: the flying car is built to travel as easily on the road as in the sky.
Web Access Is A Basic Human Right
Alessia Andreotti"It's time to recognize the Internet as a basic human right" its inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee has said.
The Power Amplification Robot
Alessia AndreottiPower Loader: the power amplification exoskeleton robot.
The Smartest Artificial Skin
Alessia AndreottiStretchy artificial skin lets prosthetic hand sense heat, humidity, and pressure.
To Be Human Is To Be Transhuman
Alessia AndreottiBuckle up for a new video from our favorite performance philosopher Jason Silva: To Be Human Is To Be Transhuman.
Watch Your City at Night from Space
Koert van MensvoortLess than one millennium ago the Earth at night was all black. Today it is all glowing and blossoming.
Wearable Antenna for Health Monitoring
Julia WeberWearable multifunctional antenna made of silver nano wires to monitor recovering people.
Why Robots Need Personalities
Alessia AndreottiSocial roboticist Heather Knight explains why we should give robots personalities.
Xmas Unwrapped
Koert van MensvoortAn expedition along the supply chain, visiting factory floors and productions lines of our fluffy red Santa hats, shiny baubles, tinsel and fake plastic trees. Merry Christmas!
3D Holography: the Future of Medicine
Yunus Emre DuyarA new technology aims to provide doctors with a true hologram of organs.
3D Printed Eyes with WiFi Connection
Alessia AndreottiItalian research studio is working on EYE: a 3D bioprinted sight augmentation.
3D Printed Fish Remove Toxins and Deliver Drugs
Alessia AndreottiResearchers from UC San Diego announced that they have developed 3D print tiny microrobots in the shape of fish able to detect and remove toxin from liquid.
A Self-Aware Mario Able to Learn and Feel
Yunus Emre DuyarSuper Mario is now able to learn and feel in the confines of his 8-bit universe.
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.
Anthropo-scene #10: From Thoughts to Geology
ChristianIt's more than two years since I have started this exploration of the Anthropocene for Next Nature for you. We have visited many places together, places I have traveled to as a …
Artificial Intelligence Able to Create Music
Tijs DuelEmily Howell is an interactive interface able to compose and perform her own pieces of music.
Biomimicry in Action
Abby QinAn inspiring topic about recent developments in biomimicry, Janine Benyus gave a talk on how nature influenced our future.
Bionic Ants That Work Together
Louise HuyghebaertThese robotic ants by Festo are learning to work together, like real ants do.
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.
Cities Evolve in Similar Ways as Galaxies
Koert van MensvoortScientists think the laws governing the structure of galaxies in outer space are the same laws underlying the growth of cities.
Cybernetic Bugs
Alessia AndreottiBeetles, dragonflies, butterflies and bugs made from recycled deconstructed computers, smartphones and consoles.
Death Threat by a Twitter Bot
Louise HuyghebaertDutch developer Jeffrey van der Goot got questioned by the police after one of his Twitter Bot released a tweet containing a death threat.
Digital Aquarium Powered by Real Fish
Alessia AndreottiThe fish swimming in this aquarium are unaware part of the Flowers and Fish art installation by Japanese digital studio teamLab.
Digital Mountains Shouting Your Tweets
Yunus Emre DuyarEver feel the need to hear two digital mountains read your tweets aloud with deep and sonorous voices?
DOUG: the First Robot Able to Draw
Margherita OlivoRobots can already read, talk and reason. Yet, they do not seem to have found limits to their artistic skills either. Meet DOUG_1, first the drawing robot.
Drinking Water From the Air
Yunus Emre DuyarWarka Water is an alternative water source to rural population that faces challenges in accessing drinkable water.
Drone Maps Christ the Redeemer
Yunus Emre DuyarThe current technology has not been able to replicate Christ the Redeemer perfectly, until now.
The Droneport: a New Infrastructure of This Century
Alessia AndreottiArchitect firm Foster + Partners announced plans to build the world's first droneport in Rwanda.
Ear-Free Headphones
Alessia AndreottiUsing bone conduction, this device allows to hear the sound directly in the head, keeping the ears free.
Eco Currency Questions
Billy SchonenbergDiscussing the possibility to put a price-tag on nature, and what this would implicate.
Ever-Changing Sceneries with Microbots
Yunus Emre DuyarKirsten Zirngibl's illustrations depict imaginary landscapes that are formed by microbots.
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?
First Bionic Rose with Electronic Circuits
Margherita OlivoFor the first time, researchers at the University of Linkoping , Sweden, have succeeded in establishing organic circuits within living plants. They combined electronics with the …
Computer Generated Deep Dream
Erik van der VeenTurning a normal stroll through the supermarket into a psychedelic dream (or nightmare) of algorithmic pareidolia.
Google's Smart Interactive Clothing
Alessia AndreottiProject Jacquard makes it possible to weave touch and gesture interactivity into any textile.
Grow your Dinner in a Kitchen Insect Farm
Koert van MensvoortThe Kitchen Insect Farm enables people to grow their own protein source (read: larvae) at home.
Human-Like Robot Makes Freaky Joke About the Future of Mankind
Daniel FragaTo thread the uncanny valley is a conscious choice for many artists and enthusiasts, as a means to evoke, through their work, powerful emotions, thoughts and everything in between.
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.
Ingestible Device to Monitor Vital Signs
Margherita OlivoBiomaterials researchers at MIT came up with a very tiny device able to monitor vital signs from deep inside the body.
Should Intelligent Sex Robots be Banned?
Daniel FragaThe Campaign Against Sex Robots, recently launched, is pushing towards banning the continuation of sex robots development.
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.
Lab-Grown Horn to Help Prevent Poaching
Yunus Emre DuyarPembient, a West Coast startup, might have a solution to the rhino-poaching problem with its lab-grown rhino horn project.
Let Your Drone Mow Your Lawn
Yunus Emre DuyarIf you do not want to slave away under the sun, pushing a bulky mower around, drones can do it for you.
Abandoning Modern Life to Live as a Goat
Wei Lun WangConceptual designer Thomas Thwaites is currently investigating and experiencing to live life as a goat.
Meet the Hospital of the Future
Margherita OlivoWith its 656 beds, this hospital offers unconventional and leading computerized assistance for all sorts of patients.
Tracking Employees' Body Functions to Improve Business Performance
Alessia AndreottiIn the quest for competitive advantage, companies adopt wearable biometric technologies to monitor employees and improve business results.
New Friends? Let Social Textiles Help You
Yunus Emre DuyarA group of students at the MIT Media Lab are working on an electronic textile that might help us interact with people more easily.
Next Nature Talk at IoTx in Dubai
NextNature.netGoing to the lustrous IoTx conference in Dubai this year? Don’t miss out the Next Nature lecture.
Next Nature Talk at Nature 3.x Symposium
NextNature.netKoert van Mensvoort will take part in the Nature 3.x: Where is Nature Now? symposium at the University of Minnesota.
Plastivore – A Bird that Feeds on Plastic
Koert van MensvoortThe speculative 'Plastivore' bird thrives on a diet of fungi and plastics.
Robot Swans Monitor Water Quality
Alessia AndreottiThe National University of Singapore released a group of robot swans in the Pandan Reservoir to swim around and keep an eye on water quality.
Robot’s Best Friend
Alessia AndreottiFrom chef, to nurse, and also lover. Get ready, a new generation of robots is going to invade our lives!
Seaweed Farms to Solve the Problem of Ocean Acidification
Margherita OlivoBy burning fossil fuels we are responsible for the increase of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. Aside from raising temperatures globally, this is also affecting our …
See Through the Skin with Your Smartphone
Wei Lun WangIn the near future he ability to see through things won’t be a dream anymore with this infrared smartphone camera.
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.
Stewart Helps People to Trust Self-Driving Car
Erik van der VeenStewart is a tactile interface that mediates the communication between human and self-driving car.
Bacteria and Drones: New Ways to Collect Samples
Erik van der VeenWhile a hipster-drink bacteria are hunting space organisms, robots are catching whale snot in the open ocean.
How Technology is Becoming More and More Sensitive
Margherita OlivoOver the past decade scientists have tried to get technology surfaces to be as sensitive as our skin, especially as our fingertips. Human tact is a very sophisticate interface …
The art of growing grasshoppers
Ruben BaartGrasshoppers are a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to meat protein. Could the ability to grow them in your kitchen make them more appealing? Watch the video below and …
The Golden Quarter
Michael HanlonSome of our greatest cultural and technological achievements took place between 1945 and 1971. Why has progress stalled?
The Hotel Run by Robots
Alessia AndreottiA futuristic Japanese hotel will be run by robots, designed to be extremely human-like.
Talkable Vegetables
Wei Lun WangBreaking the silence, vegetables in a Japanese supermarket start to talk to the customers.
Visualizing the World Economy
Koert van MensvoortThis Is What $15.3 Trillion of World Trade Looks Like.
Watch out for Bullied Robots
Alexandra BremersDystopian future scenarios filled with evil robots are everywhere. We are afraid of robots treating us badly, but what will happen if it'll be the other way around? According to …
We Are What We Like
Alessia AndreottiAccording to a study our PC, equipped with a list of things we "Like" on Facebook , knows us better than our friends.
53 Shades of Blue
Ruben BaartAn artist installed a sculpture on the main street of Ljubljana, Slovenia, that measures the blueness of the sky.
Adblock Plus Now Sells Acceptable Ads
Ruben BaartAdblock Plus, world’s most popular ad-blocking tool, just announced they are launching an advertising service for “acceptable” ads.
Anonymity Becomes the New Privacy
Ioana TomiciArtists respond to biometric technology and data collecting software through subversive projects.
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!
Roboat Ahoy: the First Autonomous Boats
Ruben BaartThe first self “driving” boat will be entering the canals of Amsterdam in 2017 with versatile ends.
Brexit: the Cultural Climate Warms Up
Daniel FragaOn the aftermath of such a historic day for Britain and the EU, it's easy to get swayed into the polarities of political discourse, particularly on social media and the Internet, where things heat up and move fast. The results of the referendum have just come out, and the Internet is already burning with tension. This is called "climate change" - just not the one you are used to hear about.
A.I. Can Guess Exact Locations of Images
Margherita OlivoGoogle's PlaNet will be soon able to tell you where a photograph was taken by simply looking at its contents.
Cats Take Over London Underground
Ruben BaartLast week nearly 70 portraits of cats replaced all advertisements at the Clapham Common tube station in London.
Circular Economy
Koert van MensvoortThe uncomfortable watering can ironically shows us that the size matters in a circular economy.
Colorless coral: How climate change is affecting the great barrier reef
Jack CaulfieldOur peculiar image of the week comes from the Great Barrier Reef. You've probably seen images of this vibrant underwater attraction before. If you're lucky, maybe you've seen it …
Drones in Agriculture
Megan Ray NicholsHere's a look at how drones can and will impact the agriculture and farming industry.
People, Use Your Drone to Map El Niño!
Margherita OlivoHow to monitor the effects of El Niño ? The Nature Conservancy wants to take advantage of the massive image production that can be collected using smartphones and drones. From …
Earth Next to the Sun Makes Us Modest
Koert van MensvoortThe realization that the volume of the Earth would fit over a million times in the volume of the Sun kind of makes you modest. No, we are not the Masters of the Universe.
Eating Plastic or Krill: a Smelly Story for Birds
Mathilde NakkenSeabirds eat floating plastic debris because it smells like food, study finds.
eHighway: a Fossil-Free Alternative
Margherita OlivoSweden hosts the World's first electric highway for trucks, giving hope for the future of fossil free transportation.
When FB Replaced Editors with Algorithm
Ruben BaartFacebook had just fired their curatorial team for the ‘Trending’ news section over an algorithm, resulting in false stories attacking a news anchor, a writer, and Mac Donald’s.
Experience a Real Safari, Google-Style
Margherita OlivoGoogle launched the Mzansi Experience, a virtual tour to South Africa through Street View.
When FB Told Everyone They Were Dead
Ruben BaartDue to an algorithmic error, Facebook mistakenly "memorialized" vital user accounts with a banner announcing the user’s passing – turning their friend walls into memorial walls.
The First Fully Autonomous Soft Robot
Ruben BaartThe Octobot is the first of its kind made fully of soft materials and is aimed to pave the way towards a more safely interaction with humans.
The First Baby with Three Genetic Parents
Mathilde NakkenThis year, on April 6th, a baby was born with three genetic parents: two mothers and one father.
The First Drone Superhighway
Ruben BaartUrban planners proposed a utopian superhighway for the up-and-coming organic smart city Bao’an.
First Self Sufficient Solar-Powered Airport
Margherita OlivoThe Cochin International Airport is self-sufficient thanks to its solar power plant.
Safe Driving Rewarded with Free Coffee
Ruben BaartAs part of a new traffic safety initiative, a car manufacturer, a telecommunications operator, and a coffee chain have joined forces to develop a new app designed to promote safer driving.
Future Architecture: Digesting Walls
Mathilde NakkenThe University of West England is developing living bricks, turning your walls into a digesting organism.
Swedish Government Rewards Citizens Who Repair Instead of Throwing Away
Mathilde NakkenSweden is paying people to fix their belongings instead of throwing them away.
Getting Wasted on Plastics
Lewis JustA new community currency that rewards recyclers with local discounts and deals.
Glowing Planet T-Shirt
NextNature.netFeaturing different cities at night, the Next Nature Glowing Planet T-shirt highlights the enchanting beauty of our glimmering world.
Growing Potatoes at JFK Airport
Ruben BaartThe 5th largest airline in the United States, JetBlue, is growing potatoes at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Horsesneakers
Alejandro AlvarezMegasus horse runners created the horsesneakers aimed to help horses and riders to deliver a better performance in sports.
How Data Reformed Politics
Ingmar NieuweboerBig data is reforming politics, but is it for the better?
Human Cloning Now Possible in China
Daniel FragaIs human cloning here? Chinese scientist is ready to clone people at his ‘replication factory’.
Hyperloop Set to Change Mass Transit
Megan Ray NicholsThe Hyperloop is a future transportation means that is safer, faster, and cheaper than current forms of mass transit.
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.
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.
Interview: Pauline Van Dongen, Designer Merging Fashion and Technology
Margherita OlivoDutch fashion designer specialized in wearable technology, Pauline van Dongen researches the human body in relation to its surroundings.
Interview: Mike Thompson and Susana Cámara Leret, Designers Exploring Alternative Ways of Thinking & Doing
Ingmar NieuweboerInterview with Mike Thompson and Susana Cámara Leret.
Israeli Tech Turns Any Road Electric
Alessia AndreottiElectRoad developed a unique technology that powers the vehicle wirelessly from the road while driving.
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.
Making King's Day More Sustainable
Margherita OlivoOn King's Day the water board of Amsterdam wants to collect urine and use it as fertilizer.
Mapping the Online World
Ingmar NieuweboerThe world looks quite different online, based on the country-code domains
Meet the Farmer Drone
NextNature.netThe Farmer Drone is a hardworking drone that ploughs land, grows crops and milks the cows, all on the same day.
Meet the Queen Bee Drone
NextNature.netThe Queen Bee Drone helps solving the bee crisis of the last decade, not intruding, just bringing help and assistance.
Meet the Vaccinator Drone
NextNature.netThe Vaccinator Drone will provide you with the medicine you need.
Meet the WiFi Drone
NextNature.netThis is the WiFi drone, a useful companion that perfectly blend into our environment while providing us with information and connectivity.
Mentally Disordered Robots
Nadine RoestenburgWhile robots are becoming more and more human, with all their sensors and information processing abilities, may it be likely that they too could develop mental illnesses?
Morality of an Autonomous Car
Monika KozubWhen an autonomous car has to make a decision, will self-interest or the public good predominate?
Next Nature and Next Generations
Elise MarcusOur workshop with kids from Lanterna Magica, an unconventional primary school in Amsterdam.
The Next Nature Sneaker Series
Mathilde NakkenWe 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.
Fellow Day: Next Senses
Ingmar NieuweboerOn June 17th a NNN Fellow Day was organized to explore the future project: Next Senses.
Photoshop for Voice on Its Way
Monika KozubWhat if we can no longer rely on authenticity of voice recordings? A demo software to alter them premiered recently.
An Edible Drone for Humanitarian Aid
Ruben BaartNigel Gifford is developing a drone that will be relatively inexpensive, disposable and edible.
Preventing Data Leaks with Smell
Ruben BaartThe Smell of Data alerts Internet users in any case of data leakage and communicates digital hazards by means of smell.
New Diets for Cows Can Stop Gas Emissions
Mathilde NakkenYearly 90 million metric tonnes of methane are burped and farted into the atmosphere by cattle with effects on climate change. Researchers are looking for ways to change the cow's diet, feeding it oregano, seaweed and super grass.
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.
Reversing Evolution with a Legless Mouse
Mathilde NakkenAt a lab in Berkeley, California, there’s a mouse with no legs. Its head, torso, and tail are normal. It just lacks limbs. It didn’t lose those limbs; it just never grew them originally.
Robot Breaks Rubik's Cube World Record
Alessia AndreottiWatch this robot solving the Rubik's Cube in 1.047 second.
This Robot Builds a House in Two Days
Ruben BaartA Bricklaying Robot builds low-cost houses in just two days.
A Robot to Help The Refugee Crisis
Margherita OlivoIn the last months we've been witnessing a refugee crisis of huge proportions. More than a million people crossed the sea to flee violence in Africa and the Middle-East. Together …
This Robot Takes Care of Your Children
Ruben BaartThis robot nanny is designed to take on adult responsibilities, raising concerns regarding the consequences of using robots to raise our children.
This Robotic Stingray is Alive
Ruben BaartBy way of reverse engineering and taking heart cells from a rat, researchers at Harvard University have designed a miniature robotic stingray that is alive.
Are Robots the Future of Tattoos?
Ruben BaartAn industrial robot just tattooed the first person ever in San Francisco.
Robots Taking Government Jobs
Ruben BaartMeet Amelia, the first robot to work along with human coworkers in a council job.
Robots Are Making Pizza Now
Ruben BaartA new wave of automation lies in pizza. Not only will robots deliver your pizzas in the future, they will even make them.
Self-Driving Cars Are Here to Stay
Megan Ray NicholsThe first time you switch on your self-driving car, punch in your coordinates and cruise off to the soulless thrum of an electric motor you’ve got to wonder: does this thing know what it’s doing?
Solar-Powered Donkeys to Stay Online
Margherita OlivoTurkish shepherds are installing solar panels on their donkeys to stay connected.
A Tablet for the Visually Impaired People
Margherita OlivoU.S. researchers are working on an affordable braille tablet for blind people.
A Taste of RoboBee Honey
Mathilde NakkenWhere 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.
Your Teaching Assistant Is a Robot
Margherita OlivoJill Watson has been performing as teaching assistant for 5 months, but she is not a real person, and students didn't notice.
Thanksgiving Getaway Gridlock
Alessia AndreottiIn suburbia, we hope to get away from it all. Unfortunately, everyone else has the same idea. Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers!
Painted by Drones
Ruben BaartGerman aerial-photography group Cooper Copter is exploring “vandalism 2.0” with drones that throw paint bombs.
Meeting the Future at TodaysArt
Monika KozubLast week The Hague hosted a festival dedicated to contemporary experiments in music, art and digital culture.
Turn Your Cursor into a Songbird
Alejandro AlvarezThe Bird Sounds experiment, powered by Google Creative lab, is a visualization of thousands of bird songs organized by their similarities.
Using Solar Powered Drones as Satellites
Ruben BaartThe experimental solar powered airplane Solar Impulse 2 succeeded its record-breaking journey over the Pacific. The Swiss team is now developing the next step of the project: solar drones.
A Village Made of Plastic
Daniel FragaA canadian entrepreneur is trying to help reduce plastic pollution by building a village made out of plastic in Panama.
Walk, Talk and Get Paid
Monika KozubAs the digital age makes people more lonely, Chuck McCarthy created a service to walk with strangers.
Watch the First Movie Trailer Made by AI
Ruben BaartIBM's Watson succeeded in creating its first-ever movie trailer for the upcoming sci-fi thriller Morgan.
What's Flying There? Coloring Book
NextNature.netWhat’s Flying There? is a coloring book that opens up new perspectives for drones applications in the human habitat.
Fake Grass Covered Roofs to Produce Energy
Margherita OlivoThe concept of using our rooftops to produce green, renewable energy for our houses is already very common if we look at solar panels. Now an international team of scientists is …
AI & VR Impact on Architects and Engineers
Megan Ray NicholsFuture workspace, human interaction and unique experiences: here’s how artificial intelligence and VR impact on architects and engineers.
An AI Is Writing the Next "Game of Thrones"
Jack CaulfieldOne fan has become so impatient for the conclusion to "Game of Thrones", he's programmed an AI to write it for him. Move over, George R.R. Martin!
400 BCE - Myth of Princes Grown in Jars
Elle Zhan WeiIn year 400BCE in ancient Indian Sanskrit epics, 100 princes were created from a jar of ghee.
Ectogenesis, Artificial Womb, Human Egg?
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThe artificial womb is on the verge of becoming a reality, but how it will affect our culture is for us to decide.
The New Way to Boost Creativity
Julie ReindlDanish company develops device to stimulate creativity.
Dinner with Chef Watson
Ruben BaartChef Watson knows over 10.000 recipes. The highbrow robotic cook invited us over for dinner during the first Neo-Futurist Dinner at Mediamatic.
Teaching Crows to Clean Up Cigarette Butts
Jack CaulfieldCigarette butts are littered everywhere. But now, two Dutch designers have come up with a unique solution to the problem: the Crowbar.
App Activates Cells That Manage Diabetes
Julie ReindlScientists develop engineered cells to be implanted in patients with diabetes to regulate blood sugar levels, controlled with a smartphone app.
Drone Hits Crash Test Dummy for Your Safety
Ruben BaartResearchers at Virginia Tech are studying the risk of injury from a drone collision by hitting a crash test dummy in the head.
ECO Coin Award 2017 Nominations Open
NextNature.netThe nominations for the ECO coin Award 2017 are now officially open. Let us know who you think deserves to earn the award.
ECO Coin First Trial at DGTL 2017
NextNature.netWe had a wonderful first run of the ECO Coin during DGTL festival in Amsterdam.
ECO Coin Award Interviews: Sandra Rey
Jack CaulfieldWe 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.
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!
Sustainable Flying with Electric Planes
Elle Zhan WeiGerman company revealed fastest electric plane.
Living on Water for a Sustainable Planet
Charlotte KuijpersCompany Blue Frontiers wants to build 7.500 square meters of floating city made up of linked platforms, starting 2018. They hope to complete it by 2020.
Greenhouse for Space Colonies
Elle Zhan WeiResearchers from Arizona and NASA unveiled a plan to sustainably provide food in space, growing it in an inflatable greenhouse.
Grow Your Own Bio Bot
Julie ReindlResearches at the University of Illinois released a step by step guide to build 3D printed bio robots with living muscles.
Next Nature Habitat VR Wins Sweden VR Award
NextNature.netOur Next Nature Habitat VR experience has won the Sweden International Virtual Reality Award in the category Best 360 Video!
HUBOT: Meet the Exoskeleton Mover
NextNature.netA job from HUBOT: as an exoskeleton mover, you wear a motorized exoskeleton suit that gives you the muscular power of a gorilla.
HUBOT: Meet the Air Traffic Security Worker
NextNature.netAs air traffic security you make sure that birds stay away from the airport using your eagle drone. With an accessory console, you fly the quadcopter from the sideline to scare …
Human Artist Hatches Ten Chicken Eggs
Ruben BaartFrench performance artist hatches 10 hen's eggs in Palais de Tokyo.
No Drones in the Park, Please!
Jack CaulfieldIn Icelandic national parks the use of drones has been forbidden. No camping, dogs to be kept on leashes, and please, leave your drones at home.
Conversation with Dutch Philosopher Bas Haring: Robot, Colleague or Foe?
Ruben BaartWe talked with Bas Haring to discuss the conception, image and will of the robot. Read our conversation with him and update your ideas about robots.
Intimate Technology S01E02: Misbehaving (Ro)bots
NextNature.net"Misbehaving (Ro)bots" asks whether technology could hope to replicate these small bothersome quirks that instill a feeling of intimacy.
Lego Bricks Come Alive
Ruben BaartLego announced the next generation of building bricks, bringing the creations to life.
New AI Model Can Mimic Any Human Voice
Elle Zhan WeiLyrebird is an AI model capable of synthesizing anyone’s voice from just a one-minute audio sample.
Meteorology Captures the Technosphere
Alejandro AlvarezThere is a WiFi network illegally configured that interferes with the rain radar creating a ray of "clouds" that won't bring any water.
Supermarkets Are Our New Savannah, Especially During Natural Disasters
Megan Ray NicholsBefore a natural disaster hordes of people crowd in supermarkets and fight over the last supplies. It mirrors the savannah with cliques and groups trying to get the available food, water or shelter.
iPhones Are Happy to See Us
Jack CaulfieldWhat if you could unlock your phone by simply looking at the camera? According to Apple, this is precisely how the iPhone X will work. But how secure is it?
A Robot Will Spark the Next Avant-Garde
Nadine Roestenburg “An illegal theme park exposing the ideology of the aesthetics of hacking”. “A hybrid drone targeting technological domination”. “A psychedelic fridge to raise doubt about fake …
The Next Nature Guide to Games in 2017
Jack CaulfieldIn the next nature, many people spend as much time in the digital world of gaming as they do in the real world. We have covered video games before, but this year we thought it …
A Panda Shaped Solar Plant
Alejandro AlvarezChina recently built a panda shaped solar plant to get kids interested in green energy.
Personhood Status for Robots
Julie ReindlAn "electronic personhood" for robots has been discussed in the European Parliament recently, raising big questions about equality, citizenship, legal and ironically, human rights for artificial intelligent machines.
Plastic Exoskeletons for Turtles
Nadine RoestenburgAntonio Esparza designed the TurtleBag: a 3D printable exoskeleton to help turtles distinguish plastic bags from jellyfish and extend their lifespan.
Preventive Punishment for Robots
Elle Zhan WeiThe Punishment is an installation featuring a robotic arm that mimics a kid's handwriting perfectly, and repetitively writes "I must not hurt humans".
Pre-Order the Pyramid of Technology Toolkit
NextNature.netThe Pyramid of Technology toolkit is a workshop-in-a-box that helps you better understand technology and catalyze innovative processes.
Robot Librarians Instruct Young Generations
Ruben BaartThe Dutch province Gelderland-South uses two educational robots to increase kids' knowledge on such a technology.
Replacing Fireflies with Lasers
Alec SchellinxAfter mounting criticism from environmentalists, a firefly-themed park in China announced that the glowing bugs will be replaced by lasers.
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 …
Robo-Bee Pollinated a Japanese Lily
Nadine RoestenburgA video of a robotic bee pollinating a flower (looking more like Loopin' Louie spinning off the board game and hitting a flower) recently caught our attention. What at first sight …
Jobs for Entrepreneurs - Robots at Work #4
Mathilde NakkenThis is post number four of our serie 'Robots at Work'. In this episode we present you five jobs for entrepreneurs, the ones who love doing big business.
Rights for Robots: EU Calls for Regulation
Jack CaulfieldA new report recommends that we decide the legal status of robots sooner rather than later. It even suggests that they could be given personhood and rights.
GM Self-Destroying Moths
Julie ReindlOpen-air tests of self-destructing moths mark a new frontier for GMOs.
The Self-Flying Taxi Drone
Ruben BaartPassenger-carrying drones will hit the skies in Dubai this summer.
Sleep and Dream Controller
Lydia HaldersDevelopers at Dutch-based company Arenar have designed a device that not only claims to improve the quality of sleep, but also induces lucid dreams.
The Smell of Global Economy
Elle Zhan WeiThe Pollution Pods installation replicates the smell and air quality of five different urban environments, forming the smell of a global economy.
Solar Powered Electric Cars
Daniel FragaThe sun sustains our planetary system. Its energy fuels life. And in the future, the sun will also fuel our cars. That’s the premise of Dutch startup Lightyear, a startup specialized in solar powered electric cars.
The Story of Money: Paper
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. This episode: paper.
Robotic Tarzan Controls Crops
Julie ReindlA robot inspired by a sloth was developed in order to control crops growing in our fields.
Tattooing Fruits and Veggies with Lasers
Ruben BaartEco-friendly lasers might soon replace stick-on labels on fruits and veggies.
Technosphere Weighs 30 Trillion Tons
Koert van MensvoortIf humans would disappear from the face of the Earth today, we would still leave 30 trillion tons of mass in the geological record. Certainly, "we were here" is written all over.
The Posthuman Farm
Ruben BaartWu Tzu-ning presents a posthuman reality from genetic engineering to digital afterlife.
A Truly Exotic Fruit: the Space Mango
Julie ReindlScientists sent mango embryos to space lab in order to let them develop new genetic traits.
Building a City on Mars by 2117
Elle Zhan WeiThe United Arab Emirates released plans to build a city on Mars.
Untouched Nature? Not in the Amazon
Alejandro AlvarezThe Amazonian rainforest was already transformed over two thousand years ago by people who built hundreds of large, mysterious earthworks.
Rescue Drone Will Save You in Open Water
Elle Zhan WeiDrone made to rescue in bad weather condition in open waters.
A Virtual Cure for the Socially Withdrawn
Julie ReindlUsing alternative reality as a cure for the socially excluded.
Virtual Networking, the Future Social Media
Megan Ray NicholsVirtual reality is already becoming a part of the conversation surrounding social media. Will it become the next popular social network?
Artificial Womb Workshop at Border Sessions
Elle Zhan WeiAt Border Sessions Festival in the Hague a workshop was hosted by Next Nature Network on the artificial womb.
The World's First Floating City
Elle Zhan WeiIn effort of protecting and prospering their country, the Polynesian government has signed an agreement to realize the world’s first floating city.
Call for projects: bring your groundbreaking creativity to tackle pressing energy issues
NextNature.netWe need to change the way we power our daily lives. Burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of climate change, yet this is still our main source of energy. Much of this energy …
Counteracting Climate Change with Geoengineering
Jack CaulfieldA respected astrobiologist argues that a radical new process called geoengineering might be the only way to save us from climate change.
This controversial new test could be used to screen embryos for intelligence
bryan clarkA new test promises to fan the flames of ethical debate surrounding designer babies. For the first time, couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) could soon be able to …
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 …
How self-driving cars will change our sex lives
bryan clarkIt’s clear that driverless cars will revolutionize the way we get from Point A to Point B. Perhaps less obvious is how it’ll change our sex lives. According to a new study by the …
Earth is so strongly impacted by its human inhabitants that it's now a “hybrid planet”
Jack CaulfieldHumanity has for a long time considered itself the most important species on the planet. We are quite happy to share the world with other species, but we think we know who's in …
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 …
This Twitterbot imagines the Fanta flavors that will fuel your summer
Kelly van GemertToday, artificial intelligence is doing all kinds of things: It can write an episode of game of thrones , it may revolutionize the teaching industry , and it's drawing new streets …
![Visual of #French [Green] DreamTowers](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2018/french-dream-towers/d09be6a9fe-1602632756/han-1xtu-868x486.jpg)
#French [Green] DreamTowers
Alec SchellinxFrenchDreamTowers is an eco-friendly high-rise complex imagined by Paris-based architect studio XTU , for the city of Hangzhou in Southern China. Currently under study, the …
Three scenarios for the future of farming
Kelly van GemertAgriculture 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 …
Give AI curiosity and it plays video games all day
Tristan GreeneIf you teach a robot to fish, it’ll probably catch fish. However, if you teach it to be curious, it’ll just watch TV and play video games all day. Researchers from Open AI …
A happy birth day to Louise Brown
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDear Louise Brown, On behalf of the future I would like to congratulate you on your birthday. It has been 40 years that you where born into this world on July 25th 1978, …
HUBOT: Meet the Cybercrime Detective
NextNature.netAs a cybercrime detective, you search for suspicious patterns that indicate crime in the digital domain.
Interview Mark Wigley: "We are living in an ecology of antenna"
Ruben BaartWith the invention of the radio antenna in the late 19th century, we became a different species: Introducing the human insect. A species, able to communicate across oceans using …
'I volunteer myself to try this cultured meat at my own risk'
Koert van MensvoortThe Netherlands leads in cheese, clogs, and cultured meat. This sustainable and animal-friendly form of meat has largely been developed in our country. In 1997, Willem van Eelen …
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 …
How this self-sustainable microhome may change the future of housing
Belen MunozLooking for a self-sustainable mobile microhome? Ecocapsule got you covered. This cute-as-pie capsule pod allows you to live completely off the grid in a low-energy, mobile …
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 …
Interview: Jeremy Bailenson on his latest book "Experience on Demand"
Katherine Oktober MatthewsVirtual reality has come a long way. Like most technological leaps, it’s had a huge push from the entertainment industry, but current applications span a wide range of social and …
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 …
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 …
If you could have another sense, which sense would you choose?
Meike SchipperColor-blind artist Neil Harbisson designed a brain-implanted antenna that converts colors into sound. This enables him to hear colors he cannot see, and extends his vision to …
Reimagining popular apps with the Pyramid of Technology
Alejandro AlvarezToday, there's an app for everything. They help us satisfy our cravings, allow us to communicate at all times and make it easier to share special moments. But the dark, cold …
Researchers are developing a device that can edit brain activity
Tristan GreeneNeuroscientists at the University of California Berkely are building a device that’ll hack our brains so we can ‘edit’ what we feel and remember. It looks like we’ve drawn “ Total …
Sandra Rey wins ECO Coin Award
NextNature.netThis 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.
Struck by lightning: Shipping emissions double frequency of lightning storms
Jack CaulfieldThey say lightning never strikes twice, but it appears to be striking a lot more often in some areas of ocean than others. New research published in Geophysical Research Letters …
Smart Ring Turns Thumb Gestures into Words and Numbers
Belen MunozFrom the Georgia Institute of Technology arrives FingerSound, a smart ring that recognizes thumb gestures and converts them into words and numbers.
Welcome spring with this selection of NANO Supermarket products
NextNature.netWell, we finally made it. After a long, cold, dark winter, spring has officially started today. And guess what it's bringing with it? Nope, not spring flowers: Love flowers! …
The Story of Money: Bits
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. The final episode: bits.
The Story of Money: Plastic
NextNature.netThe story of money: an accessible roadmap from prehistory to digital age, from cows to credit, from gold mining to bitcoin mining. This episode: plastic.
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 …
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 …
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 …
Explore your relationship with AI
Ruben BaartWhat makes us human? And why do we sometimes fear artificial intelligence? And what about technological singularity - the moment in time when artificial intelligence outperforms …
Next Nature is hiring an army of bots
Next Nature DevAs we showed with HUBOT , we can use new technologies and robotics to make our work more enjoyable, interesting and humane. Aside from our speculative jobs, a lot of robotic …
How cities are cutting out cars
Vanessa Bates RamirezIt’s common consensus in the tech industry that the days of cars as we know them—powered by gas, driven by humans, and individually owned by all who want and can afford one—are …
Why electric cars should be allowed to drive faster
Koert van MensvoortIn response to the nitrogen crisis, the Dutch cabinet is planning to reduce the speed limit during the day to 100 kph. In itself a sensible decision. But it is strange that this …
5 things to do at DDW19
Freya HutchingsLining up plans for Dutch Design Week ? Once more, 2600 designers gather in over 120 locations during 450 events. So whether you're a local, new in town, or just passing through, …
Enter the Future Food Formula
Ruben BaartImagine, 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 …
Why not all buildings have sustainable green roofs
Michael HardmanRooftops 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 …
How to biofabricate leather
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 …
Lessons in bio design from Emma van der Leest
Meike SchipperAs 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 …
Gène Bertrand on design for human needs
Meike SchipperNature 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 …
Discover the art of the living at Centre Pompidou
Ruben BaartGo 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 …
Sophia the Robot has a sister: Little Sophia
Ruben BaartRobot Sophia is pretty much the international face of the ‘modern robot’. Sophia is the Audrey Hepburn-inspired humanoid robot who stands out for multiple reasons. She is the …
This exhibition looks at how robots are changing the world we live in
Ruben BaartDelve into the science and fiction of robots at V&A Dundee’s latest exhibition: Hello, Robot . Contemplate the existence of robots and how they have both shaped, and been …
Why some plastic packaging is necessary to prevent food waste
Manoj DoraThere has been a surge in awareness of the damage that plastic pollution does to our planet in recent years. It has spurred a number of campaigns to remove single-use plastics …
The Coming World: ecology as the new politics
Ruben BaartIn 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 …
3 ways Virtual Reality is revolutionizing teaching
John PickavanceYou’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, …
Why there is a new urgency for speculative design
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 …
Who should win the ECO Coin Award 2019?
Next Nature DevEach 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 …
The Next Nature guide to Transmediale 2019
Ruben BaartBerlin is kicking off its cultural season with the not-to-miss 23th installment of Transmediale . This year the digital art/culture festival focuses on how feelings are made into …
AI Song Contest: the show must go on!
Ruben BaartThe spread of the coronavirus has led to the cancellation or postponement of many events around the globe. Luckily there are still events we can look forward to, such as the AI …
Next Generation: Growing technology with Prosthetic X
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
Next Generation: Creating utopian and dystopian futures with Bas Jansen
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 …
Cyborg artist Moon Ribas feels earthquakes
Freya HutchingsImagine waking in the night, and feeling the vibrations of an earthquake on the other side of the world pulsing through your body. This is a reality for Catalan-born artist Moon …
Next Generation: Searching for Null Island with Deborah Mora
Ruben BaartThis 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 new Next Nature book is here!
Next Nature DevWe 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, …
A countryside dweller's guide to the future
Ruben BaartThe current lockdown in much of Europe has city-dwellers flocking to the countryside to wait out the outbreak sweeping the continent. Seeking relief from coronavirus, urbanites …
Design your Self!
Next Nature DevWho are you, who do you want to be, and what do you need to do to get there? We are constantly pushed to lead the perfect life. The media present us with a picture of an existence …
7 ways to connect with your loved ones
Ruben BaartDuring these challenging times, we have tried to find happy moments together where we could find them. From weekly Zoom lunches to having online wine tastings, still, it doesn't …
Author Jenny Kleeman is meeting the people creating our future
Ruben BaartMeet Jenny Kleeman , journalist and documentary-maker. Sex Robots & Vegan Meat is her first book for anyone interested in, well, sex robots, vegan meat, out of body birth bags …
This app allows you to talk to quarantined people around the world
Ruben BaartLoneliness is one of the silent serial killers during the pandemic. Therefore Next Nature provides you the tip to pick up your phone. Artists Danielle Baskin and Max Hawkin …
What will COVID-19 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 …
Why physical distancing feels so unnatural to us
Isabelle Catherine WinderFor many people, the most distressing part of the coronavirus pandemic is the idea of social isolation. If we get ill, we quarantine ourselves for the protection of others. But …
5 Dutch exhibitions you cannot miss this summer
Ruben BaartInterior based on bacteria, spaces morphing perception and the merging of man, animal and machine. These five must see exhibitions in the Netherlands explore the intersection of …
A button that tells your boss you're unhappy
Ruben BaartWith gyms closed and millions cooped up and restless at home, it’s little wonder that “healthtech” is now being billed as the next big battleground over which the likes of …
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?
How bacteria can recover precious metals from EV batteries
Sebastien FarnaudThere are more than 1.4 billion cars in the world today, and that number could double by 2036 . If all those cars burn petrol or diesel, the climate consequences will be dire. …
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 …
Cooling buildings with ultra-white paint
Andrew ParnellFrom icy tundras to billowing clouds, the colour white crops up repeatedly in our planet’s palette. This colour provides a natural way for light from the sun to reflect back from …
Next Nature plans for Evoluon honored with Region Deal
Next Nature DevGood day astronauts of spaceship Earth! Today it was announced that Next Nature's plans for the Evoluon have been awarded a financial contribution of €7.6 million from the Region …
Explore the future of nature at IDFA Festival
Kelly van GemertHumans often claim to be at the top of the food chain, but is that really the case? We are experiencing – now more than ever – our own fragility: an increase in natural disasters, …
Gear up for our VR timemachine!
Next Nature DevTravel to big future in our VR timemachine at the Evoluon in Eindhoven
Join us at the Embassy of Food Conference
Next Nature DevPromising 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 …
La Belle Verte imagines a world of harmonious existence
Leanne VoshellUtopianism and dystopianism are themes often found in today’s movies, especially considering the increased awareness of the damage done to the Earth by human activities. Often …
Lab or nature: scientists are debating the origins of COVID-19
Ruben BaartWe 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 …
Leonardo DiCaprio is investing in future meat startups
Leanne VoshellGlobally, humanity consumes almost 350 million tons of meat a year. In the next 10 years, this number is expected to increase by a significant percentage. Scientists believe that …
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 …
The Next Nature Magazine is here!
Next Nature DevIt’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 …
This machine makes human clouds
Kelly van GemertHumans have been changing the composition of the atmosphere for years, resulting in concerns such as air pollution and extreme climate events. According to Filips Stanislavskis , …
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 DNA from a million-year old mammoths
Ruben BaartMost 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 …
Welcome to new Evoluon
Next Nature DevToday our human impact on Earth is humongous. Climate change, plastic oceans, mass urbanization and deforestation. Scientist recently calculated the technosphere now outweighs the …
What Julia Watson is reading this summer
Ruben BaartIn an era of high-tech and climate extremes, we are drowning in information while starving for wisdom. Architect Julia Watson imagines a design movement building on indigenous …
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 …
Why urban gardens are crucial for conserving bees and butterflies
Ruben BaartAs humans have industrialised farming to feed a growing global population, pollinators – animals vital for plant reproduction – have seen their food supply decline. In the UK, …
Five things not to miss at Floriade
Veronica FanzioHere are 5 things you cannot miss at Floriade Expo 2022
Beware of the Smombies: how smartphones affect our infrastructure
Kelly van GemertNext time you are taking a walk to work, have a look around you. You will probably notice that most of your fellow pedestrians are glued to their phones, rather than enjoying the …
Next Generation: Adorning bio embellishments with Aradhita Parasrampuria
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
Fermenting Futures and the beauty of biotechnology
Kelly van GemertExploring 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. …
FIBER Festival 2022: an exploration towards an alternative future
Marit BeerseFIBER Festival explores the future of a changing world through audiovisual art, daring conversations, and experimental electronic music.
Next Generation: Producing glass from ashes with Benedikt Peirotén
Marit BeerseBenedikt Peirotén has started a project called ‘From the Ashes’ proposing using waste streams to replace the energy-intensive ingredients in glass.
Next Generation: Tasting Landless Food with Malu Luecking
Kelly van GemertRegeneration of extinct flavor families via microalgae
Driving solar with Lightyear: the world's first solar car
Ruben BaartImagine driving along in your car, powered by the same solar energy that nourishes the landscapes around it. Lightyear 0 is the world's first solar powered car, charging itself …
The Moon Gallery: the first museum in space
Ruben BaartThe 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 …
Next Generation: Designing ecological webs with Miriam Lellek
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
Next Generation: Writing a design manifesto with Pleun Wilting
Ruben BaartThis 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 …
Reconnecting with wildlife through biodiverse meditations
Ruben BaartSleep and dream like a koala, relax under biodiversity and feel the meditative effect of artificial wildlife.
Sónar Lisboa: a festival for body and brain
Ruben BaartSometimes 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 …
The Solar Biennale brings new perspectives on the energy of the sun
Ruben BaartThe 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 …
We’re all radioactive – life isn't possible without it
Marit BeerseMost radiation is natural and life on Earth wouldn’t be possible without it.
Afrofuturism explained by Professor Julian C. Chambliss
Ruben BaartThe new sci-fi musical “ Neptune Frost ,” set in a Rwandan village constructed with computer parts, tells the story of an intersex hacker and a coltan miner who lead an anarchist …
This billionaire wants to live forever
Eleni MaragkouFrom 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, …
Fashion brand Ganni grew leather with bacteria
Kelly van GemertDanish fashion brand Ganni proposed a post-leather future: they grew imitation leather with bacteria.
The Biofabricate Summit '24 is coming to Paris!
Kelly van GemertBiosequin, seaweed textiles, and microbe sunscreen: these ideas and more are marking the next wave of bio-innovators during the Biofabricate Summit 2024.
Hurray! There are now vaccines for honeybees
Kelly van GemertA significant milestone has been reached as the US Department of Agriculture has granted approval to a vaccine for insects for the very first time. An important breakthrough, …
Next Generation: Designing chairs with mealworms and Will Eliot
Kelly van GemertWilliam Eliot designs chairs while collaborating with mealworms.
Whoops! Our sustainability efforts are warming the oceans
Koert van MensvoortCleaning up ships' pollution is making the ocean warmer than expected. Less pollution means less cooling clouds, heating up the Atlantic.
This satellite generates and sends solar energy to Earth
Kelly van GemertThe next solar farms might be located in space, instead of on Earth. A prototype satellite by Caltech launched in January seems to be up and running, showing its capability to …
Gigantic lab-grown mammoth meatball feeds an entire family
Saskia WesselingResearchers used genetic information from an extinct mammoth to create a lab-grown meatball.
Meat the future: the Netherlands might soon become a global hub for in vitro meat
Lucas ZarzosoRemember when we created a little petition back in 2018 in the hope to legalise the tasting of in vitro meat? About 4000 of you agreed with us and signed it. If you were one of …
Like fish that don't know they are wet, we are dwelling in a waterworks of money
Koert van MensvoortThe ancient Egyptians and Greeks saw water as the source of life, the "origin of everything". Today that role is reserved for money.
Will 3D-printed mussel reefs be the next nature?
Saskia WesselingResearchers hope that 3D-printed, biodegradable mussel reefs help the growth of mussel banks.
Carnerie is the grow your own meat device of the future
Kelly van GemertThis speculative kitchen device shows us a future where growing meat at home is not just a possibility but a reality.
How to design your future family
Ruben BaartImagine a place called Reprodutopia. How would such a place look like?
How to design a digital democracy
Rinie van Est10 design requirements to fully immerse ourselves into the 21st Century—in which technology makes our world richer, not poorer.
What food design can do
Kelly van GemertFood design gives us a taste of innovation. It visualizes, speculates, challenges and problem-solves.
Cooking with mycelium
Ruben BaartResearchers from the University of Colorado created a recipe book to cook with mycelium.
Nature Loves Technology
Next Nature DevWe interviewed William Myers and Emma van der Leest, curators of Nature Loves Technology, our exhibition at Floriade 2022
5 must see exhibitions in 2023
Selin Kir1. THE FUTURE IS PRESENT Design Museum Danmark How will contemporary design define the future? THE FUTURE IS PRESENT grasps the very essence of Danish artistry of material …
Meet the BAD Awards winners of 2023
Kelly van GemertThe annual Bio Art & Design (BAD) Award encourages new artists and designers to explore the world of bio art and design. Let's have a look at the three winning projects of this year.
Sonograms of planet earth
Eleni Maragkou, Kelly van GemertTechnology can help us to connect with our surroundings. Think about the microscope: it revealed ecosystems beyond our visual reach allowing us to look at the smallest inhabitants …