Bacteria may soon hang all over your wall but in the form of paint

Most people would probably shriek if they really knew or could visually see what clung to most surfaces of everything they touched in the span of a day's time. Now imagine every painted surface you were surrounded by and came in contact with was literally a network of bacteria...well imagine no longer and welcome to the future of paint.

A study in an article first published in the journal PNAS presents an ambitious and futuristic blueprint of what could be an Eco-friendly solution to paints some times not so Eco-friendly byproducts. The study was a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and a Dutch biotechnology company by the name of Hoekmine BV which claims they may be able to harvest or grow paint in an organic manner in the future.

Although this claim seems somehow on the fringes of reality, it may be more non-fiction than science fiction. The study set out to focus on a particular bacteria. The name of the bacteria is flavobacterium and is characteristically very social in its formation as a bacteria. This particular bacteria prefers to cluster tightly together and when the germs pack together they produce vibrant colors. These very sensational hues are what scientist believe they can potentially "grow" or "harvest" in the literal sense. Scientist found that the different variations of colors they were able to manipulate by tweaking the microorganism's genes were not composed of pigment but actual light refractory variations. The structure of the bacteria produces the vibrant hues through different wavelengths producing a wide spectrum of colors.

The first author of the study, Cambridge's Department of Chemistry Villads Egede Johansen said "It is crucial to map the genes responsible for the structural coloration for further understanding of how nanostructures are engineered in nature," following this he also emphasized "This is the first systematic study of the genes underpinning structural colors—not only in bacteria but in any living system."

Co-senior author Silvia Vignolini, also from Cambridge's Department of Chemistry brought forth his take on the situation saying"From an applied perspective, this bacterial system allows us to achieve tunable living photonic structures that can be reproduced in abundance, avoiding traditional nanofabrication methods". He went on to state,"We see a potential in the use of such bacterial colonies as photonic pigments that can be readily optimized for changing coloration under external stimuli and that can interface with other living tissues, thereby adapting to variable environments. The future is open for biodegradable paints on our cars and walls—simply by growing exactly the color and appearance we want."

With the world headed toward a greener future this shows the potential for there to be an eventual symbiotic balance between man and nature. It also shows just how far we have taken the future of paint. Once a primordial mix of berries smashed into a bowl has slowly evolved to nano structures that use refractory wavelengths to produce beautiful hues from light spectrum.

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