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Jerry Whidby

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Could you grow a house?

Could you print a scaffold in the shape of a house, and then use the same techniques discussed in Anthony Atala's TED Talk http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html to coat the scaffold with tree cells? Possibly spraying it on as seen on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXO_ApjKPaI

Keeping the structure alive would of course require a root structure. Perhaps one that already exist, or one that is fabricated in a similar manner. Imagine durable, self sustained, self repairing, eco friendly structures.

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Topics: science technology
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    Linda Zhou

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    Nov 2 2012: Yeah, agree. That is more eco-friendly
    But have to add something to stand Hurrican Sandy ^ ^

    • Jerry Whidby

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      Nov 5 2012: Well the roots would help anchor the house. Perhaps rebar could be wrapped around the house, and then anchored to the ground. Over time the bark would grow around the metal. Let us say that the house was damaged. Would it be relatively easy to repair using the same techniques that were used to build it?
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        Linda Zhou

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        Nov 5 2012: lol, are you some kind of guy like micheal scoffield? so sientific~

        • Jerry Whidby

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          Nov 5 2012: From Prison Break? Yes, I have a tattoo of everything described in this post on my arms and back. :) Really I just enjoy when people punch holes in my ideas. It allows me to look at things from a different perspective, and reevaluate those ideas. I enjoy finding solutions to problems. A forum like TED allows me to bounce those ideas off of other geeks. I hit the jackpot when someone with real resources finds an idea interesting enough to pursue. I have seen several TED talks that were ideas that I had thought of in the past. Enough that I thought I would start posting them as I had them. When I was a child I came up with the idea of trapping light with mirrors. All of my science teachers said that it was impossible. Later in life I came upon an article were students at MIT were trapping light. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1998/mirror.html I had envisioned this as a way to provide solar energy at night. I never stopped asking every single science teacher about this idea. I do not believe you have to be a scientist to come up with ideas. An imagination and a love for science can go a long way. Unfortunately there aren't many places for people like that to vent their ideas.
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        Linda Zhou

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        Nov 8 2012: Good job~Keep working on that!
        I also like the conversation here. For one reason, it helps me think and thanks to it i did good on GRE issue^ ^

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