Julian
Melchiorri, a graduate student at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, UK,
has created a synthetic biological leaf which is proven to produce oxygen.
Like
real plants, his new discovery can be used on the inside and outside of
buildings to provide fresh oxygen.
More importantly NASA will find his
invention handy for space travel and to aid newcomers seeking to inhabit new
planets.
The future is looking bright.
It
sounds like something out of Star Trek flick, or a Dr. Who program,
or even something out of a Star Wars film.
But this is real and the news is a real breath of
fresh air – yes, the full pun is intended.
Melchiorri,
who is now making headlines all around the world, introduced his synthetic leaf
invention recently to his classmates and professors in the Innovation Design Engineering
course at the RCA, in conjunction with a silk lab at Tufts University.
Before
the interesting news, let’s outline his equation: 6CO2 + 6H2O + –(Sunlight
Energy)–> C6H12O6 + 6O2.
Sure,
it may seem boring and technical, but it gets way better once we get past the true details on the science side of things.
And while critics say his new discovery may not work on new planets or during space travel missions, he has plenty of counter-arguments.
“The
material is extracted directly from the fibers of silk,” Melchiorri explains
during an interview. “This material has an amazing property of
stabilizing molecules. I extracted chloroplasts from plant cells and placed
them inside this silk protein. As an outcome I have the first photosynthetic
material that is living and breathing as a leaf does.”
He
adds, “"Silk Leaf is the first man-made biological leaf…It is very light,
low energy-consuming, it’s completely biological.”
He also has plans on developing his man-made leaf on lamp shades, which of course will
provide oxygen while lighting-up homes.
His
ideal client for his new invention is NASA.
NASA
has been long seeking ways to send astronauts, or space adventurers if you
will, to new planets to explore and colonize if possible.
This new synthetic
leaf just may just be a step into the journey of man discovering a new frontier in
our solar system and beyond.
“Plants
don’t grow in zero gravity,” says Melchiorri. “NASA is researching different
ways to produce oxygen for long-distance space journeys to let us live in
space. This material could allow us to explore space much further than we can
now.”
So, this is a brilliant invention for the future, here at home and for those we send into space. This new synthetic leaf that produces oxygen will no doubt go down in history.
