Non-living Matter Research Articles

Entangled Speech: Semiotic sympoiesis for the posthuman commons

In our performance Entangled Speech, we connect the integration of microbial agency into a new complex ‘common good’ with the shared values of language. Drawing on a posthuman commons we aim for a hybrid language that not only processes formal symbols but also interacts with the microbes in the speaker’s mouth. We argue that the metaphors historically used to frame the relationship between microbiomes and speech cannot account for the co-creative material relationship between human speech and posthuman microbial, environmental and biotechnological needs. In our performances, first we harvest sensitized microbes from a speaker’s mouth who had repeated those phonemes, which lead to a deviation of pH of saliva. This makes the microbes sensitive for the further processing: via a spectrogram, phonemes repetitively spoken by the audience drive pumps, which add pheromones to the microbes, the pheromones, which then are faded out. In the microbes, for some replication cycles, an ecological adaptation to the individual phonemes persists, which – in our definition – affirms some phonemes as ecological and others to be deleted, thereby changing the alphabetical order of the input word. Although parts of the process are digitally animated, the major parts develop in real time. We propose ‘microbial speech’ as a category beyond semantic meaning, with ecological qualities such as a transcorporeal mattering between words and the body. We aim at a language becoming a biological state in order to protect its own ecology. We propose a more entangled mode of microbes existing in common with language, affirming posthumanist transversal relations of all living and non-living matter.

Limiting nutrient and its use efficiency of phytoplankton in a shallow eutrophic lake, Lake Kasumigaura

In the management of lakes for a healthy environment, it is crucial to assess the limiting nutrient(s) and understand its use efficiency of the phytoplankton production. We hypothesized that dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) and/or nitrogen concentrations (DIN) describe the state of nutrient limitations on phytoplankton production. Using the 38 years of monthly limnological data at eight stations in Lake Kasumigaura, we analyzed the relationships between the available nutrients for building phytoplankton biomass and chlorophyll a (Chla). Better correlations were obtained by subtracting the nutrients in tripton (non-living particulate matter) from the total P and N (available nutrients: TP′ and TN′). We determined the thresholds for P and N limitation (DIP: 0.01 mg l−1; DIN: 0.15 mg l−1) using the slopes of regression, and we examined this assessment in one of four limitation conditions (only P, only N, both, or none) for the respective times and stations. Close relationships between TP′ and Chla for only the P limitation data and between TN′ and Chla for only the N limitation data were observed. Multiple regression models confirmed that TP′ and TN′ predominantly determined Chla in only the P and N limitation conditions, respectively. Factors affecting nutrient use efficiency were also discussed.

Equipping an extraterrestrial laboratory: Overview of open research questions and recommended instrumentation for the Moon

Humans are once again preparing to leave Earth and land on the surface of another planetary body. The two objects high on the list for permanent bases are the Moon and Mars. Both have been at the center of attention of many recent spaceflight activities, albeit these have so far been uncrewed. If humans indeed land on either one of them, science can potentially benefit tremendously. In the past, most spaceflight missions have been implemented by adding scientific instruments after most of the engineering work is already finished. This has often limited scientific studies to relatively scattered, insular topics. However, if prepared appropriately, a research laboratory on either the Moon or Mars can help address scientific questions thoroughly and at a fundamental level. In this paper we review the main scientific questions relating to the Moon that are still open and develop an overview of the instrumentation that would be necessary for a human astronaut inside a lunar laboratory to help answer these questions. Our primary focus is the Moon, however, we include an outlook to Mars, since we assume that the Moon not only provides a valuable testbed for many technologies to be used on Mars, but that both can be studied with the same habitat laboratory after some specific adaptations. The research areas we focus on are related to (a) non-living matter (geophysics, geology, materials science), (b) extraterrestrial life (from chemistry of organic carbon compounds to astrobiology), and (c) life inside the human habitat (bioregenerative life-support systems, microbiomes, human physiology). We identify synergies between disciplines, in order to provide a list of priorities to mission planners, and provide a guideline of where further development of equipment would be desirable.

Hands-On Exploration of Ocean Acidification with a Living Calcifier

This hands-on lab allows students to explore concepts and quantify effects of ocean acidification. Many laboratory activities simplify ocean acidification through computer simulations or dripping acid on nonliving materials (e.g., sea shells) but do not provide adequate opportunities for students to measure, inquire, or see real consequences for living organisms. Thus, we developed this low-cost, easily accessible experiment to imitate ocean acidification on living, calcifying organisms.

Criminological classification of robots: risk-based approach

The subject of the research is key criminal risks in robotics. The purpose of the article is to confirm or disprove the hypothesis that key criminal risks of using robots may be identified and classified. The author dares to describe the key aspects of the application of risk-based approach in the assessment of robotic activities, identify the key risks of using robots, give a criminological classification. The methodology includes a formal logical method, systematic approach, formal legal interpretation of legal acts and academic literature, SWOT analysis. The main results of the study. The author applies the main provisions of criminal riskology when assessing encroachments involving robots. Key risks and challenges when using robots are identified. The severity of the consequences of harm caused by using robots (from minor to critical risk) is assessed and a matrix of the probability of its occurrence is provided. The author's criminological classification of robots is based on the risk-based approach and is substantiated on two grounds. The first one is the category of public danger and the second is the potential severity of the consequences of harm caused by robots. The causal complex that can lead to criminal risks in robotics is identified. The grounds of such risks are divided into those related to the mechanical subsystem of robots, digital subsystem of robots and power supply subsystem of robots. Conclusions. The risk-based approach is the most progressive and effective basis for regulating the criminal relations in robotics. The author demonstrates the existence of real risks to the peace and security of mankind, life and health of people, objects of wildlife, nonliving material objects from the use of robots. It is necessary to recognize robotics as source of increased potential criminal danger and to adopt appropriate regulation as soon as possible. The necessity and expediency of applying a risk-based approach to robotics is theoretically substantiated, and the characteristics of robots that are important in assessing the criminal potential of their exploitation are evaluated. The conclusions and recom mendations of this paper may become a basis for the implementation of the risk-based approach in legal regulation of robotics. The risk matrix presented in the article can be used to establish a framework for regulatory impact on robotics, assess the consequences of potential harm and minimize it.

Irreversibility in dynamical phases and transitions

Living and non-living active matter consumes energy at the microscopic scale to drive emergent, macroscopic behavior including traveling waves and coherent oscillations. Recent work has characterized non-equilibrium systems by their total energy dissipation, but little has been said about how dissipation manifests in distinct spatiotemporal patterns. We introduce a measure of irreversibility we term the entropy production factor to quantify how time reversal symmetry is broken in field theories across scales. We use this scalar, dimensionless function to characterize a dynamical phase transition in simulations of the Brusselator, a prototypical biochemically motivated non-linear oscillator. We measure the total energetic cost of establishing synchronized biochemical oscillations while simultaneously quantifying the distribution of irreversibility across spatiotemporal frequencies.

Fluid actuation and buoyancy driven oscillation by enzyme-immobilized microfluidic microcapsules.

Mimicking microorganism's locomotion and actuation under fluid is difficult to realize. To better comprehend the motility in non-living matter, self-propelled synthetic systems are being developed as a fast-growing area of research. Inspired by the self-powered enzyme micropumps where the enzyme catalysis was harnessed to create motion, herein, enzyme-immobilized microfluidic microcapsules (MCs) were used as a microscale engine to maneuver the fluid flow. The fluid actuation was tuned by various parameters such as substrate concentration, reaction rate, diameter of MCs and the population of the MCs inside the flow chamber. The same MCs, when suspended in a solution, showed buoyancy driven motility by creating oxygen bubbles via an enzymatic reaction and the velocity of the MCs was directly dependent on the number of nucleated oxygen bubbles generated on the MC surface.

On a modeling stress-controlled surface growth of solids

Various processes are associated with the surface growth of solids, such as biological growth, formation of surfaces, processes accompanying additive technologies. Experiments show that the growth process of living and non-living matter can be controlled by external influences, including mechanical ones. This paper presents a surface growth model based on the expression for the configurational force obtained from the fundamental balances of mass, momentum and energy, and the second law of thermodynamics in the form of the Clausius-Duhem inequality. It is shown that the configurational force is the normal component of the tensor, called the surface growth tensor, which controls the processes of growth and adaptation to external mechanical loads. A kinetic equation in the form of the dependence of the growth rate on the growth tensor is formulated. A solid body is considered, in which a volumetric supply and subsequent diffusion of matter to the growth boundary occur. On the surface of the body, the transformation of one substance into another occurs, resulting in surface growth or resorption of the body. The surface growth process depends on the stress-strain state of the body and the concentration of the diffusing matter. In the process of growth, stresses and deformations change, affecting the configurational force and the rate of the matter supply, which also affects the configurational force. In addition, the model takes into account the growth strains that can occur in new layers of the material and affect the growth velocity. Thus, there is a coupled problem including the description of the supply, diffusion and growth processes and determination of the stress-strain state. The model was used for the problems of surface growth of various bodies under various loading conditions.

Posidonia oceanica as a Source of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter for the Oligotrophic NW Mediterranean Coast

Posidonia oceanica is a well-recognized source of dissolved organic matter (DOM) derived from exudation and leaching of seagrass leaves, but little is known about its impact on the chromophoric fraction of DOM (CDOM). In this study, we monitored for two years the optical properties of CDOM in two contrasting sites in the Mallorca Coast (Balearic Islands). One site was a rocky shore free of seagrass meadows, and the second site was characterized by the accumulation of non-living seagrass material in the form of banquettes. On average, the integrated color over the 250–600 nm range was almost 6-fold higher in the beach compared with the rocky shore. Furthermore, the shapes of the CDOM spectra in the two sites were also different. A short incubation experiment suggested that the spectral differences were due to leaching from P. oceanica leaf decomposition. Furthermore, occasionally the spectra of P. oceanica was distorted by a marked absorption increase at wavelength < 265 nm, presumably related to the release of hydrogen sulfide (HS−) associated with the anaerobic decomposition of seagrass leaves within the banquettes. Our results provide the first evidence that P. oceanica is a source of CDOM to the surrounding waters.

Interfacing Living and Synthetic Cells as an Emerging Frontier in Synthetic Biology.

The construction of artificial cells from inanimate molecular building blocks is one of the grand challenges of our time. In addition to being used as simplified cell models to decipher the rules of life, artificial cells have the potential to be designed as micromachines deployed in a host of clinical and industrial applications. The attractions of engineering artificial cells from scratch, as opposed to re-engineering living biological cells, are varied. However, it is clear that artificial cells cannot currently match the power and behavioural sophistication of their biological counterparts. Given this, many in the synthetic biology community have started to ask: is it possible to interface biological and artificial cells together to create hybrid living/synthetic systems that leverage the advantages of both? This article will discuss the motivation behind this cellular bionics approach, in which the boundaries between living and non-living matter are blurred by bridging top-down and bottom-up synthetic biology. It details the state of play of this nascent field and introduces three generalised hybridisation modes that have emerged.

Interface Engineering in Multiphase Systems toward Synthetic Cells and Organelles: From Soft Matter Fundamentals to Biomedical Applications.

Synthetic cells have a major role in gaining insight into the complex biological processes of living cells; they also give rise to a range of emerging applications from gene delivery to enzymatic nanoreactors. Living cells rely on compartmentalization to orchestrate reaction networks for specialized and coordinated functions. Principally, the compartmentalization has been an essential engineering theme in constructing cell-mimicking systems. Here, efforts to engineer liquid-liquid interfaces of multiphase systems into membrane-bounded and membraneless compartments, which include lipid vesicles, polymer vesicles, colloidosomes, hybrids, and coacervate droplets, are summarized. Examples are provided of how these compartments are designed to imitate biological behaviors or machinery, including molecule trafficking, growth, fusion, energy conversion, intercellular communication, and adaptivity. Subsequently, the state-of-art applications of these cell-inspired synthetic compartments are discussed. Apart from being simplified and cell models for bridging the gap between nonliving matter and cellular life, synthetic compartments also are utilized as intracellular delivery vehicles for nuclei acids and nanoreactors for biochemical synthesis. Finally, key challenges and future directions for achieving the full potential of synthetic cells are highlighted.

Theorizing a Vegetal Epistemology: Trees, Timber, and Temporality in Forest Under Story

“And I think there is another language, the forgotten language of the land. Its alphabet is the elements themselves, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen. The words of this language are living beings, and its syntax is connection … . This is the language we have yet to learn and the stories we must hear, stories that are simultaneously material and spiritual.” —Robin Wall Kimmerer What is a forest? What are trees and how do humans relate to them? Are there multiple ways of knowing a forest and, if so, how is this knowledge produced and expressed in narratives and the public imagination? And finally, how might language mediate our knowledge of the forest? The epigraph above—part of a larger essay by Robin Wall Kimmerer titled “Interview with a Watershed”—represents an attempt to broaden the lexicon of terms and metaphors that shape how individuals think about the forest. More than a collection of inert, mechanistic trees and underbrush, Kimmerer’s forest is uniquely articulate, speaking a silent language as coherent and novel as human speech, with an “alphabet,” “words,” and “syntax” (49). The forest is “self-expressive,” creating a world for itself through “network[s] of relationship” around which communities of organisms form, thrive, communicate, and interact (49). In other words, Kimmerer approaches the forest as an animated organism who exhibits remarkable commensalism between living and non-living matter, who expresses itself in a way that resists the human association of language with audible speech. While Kimmerer—an ecologist herself—finds it “hopeful” that scientists have doubled down on forest research, finding it an “interview of sorts between two parties that don’t speak the same language,” she ultimately worries that “data that the sensors collect might not be all that the land has to say” (44). The forest might not only be an archive of scientific knowledge; it might tell “lessons on how we might live” (49).

Subcellular structure and behaviour in fungal hyphae.

This work briefly surveys the diversity of selected subcellular characteristics in hyphal tip cells of the fungal kingdom (Mycota). Hyphae are filamentous cells that grow by tip extension. It is a highly polarised mechanism that requires a robust secretory system for the delivery of materials (e.g. membrane, proteins, cell wall materials) to sites of cell growth. These events result it the self-assembly of a Spitzenkörper (Spk), found most often in the Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, and Blastocladiomycota, or an apical vesicle crescent (AVC), present in the most Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota. The Spk is a complex apical body composed of secretory vesicles, cytoskeletal elements, and signaling proteins. The AVC appears less complex, though little is known of its composition other than secretory vesicles. Both bodies influence hyphal growth and morphogenesis. Other factors such as cytoskeletal functions, endocytosis, cytoplasmic flow, and turgor pressure are also important in sustaining hyphal growth. Clarifying subcellular structures, functions, and behaviours through bioimagining analysis are providing a better understanding of the cell biology and phylogenetic relationships of fungi. LAY DESCRIPTION: Fungi are most familiar to the public as yeast, molds, and mushrooms. They are eukaryotic organisms that inhabit diverse ecological niches around the world and are critical to the health of ecosystems performing roles in decomposition of organic matter and nutrient recycling (Heath, 1990). Fungi are heterotrophs, unlike plants, and comprise the most successful and diverse phyla of eukaryotic microbes, interacting with all other forms of life in associations that range from beneficial (e.g., mycorrhizae) to antagonistic (e.g., pathogens). Some fungi can be parasitic or pathogenic on plants (e.g., Cryphonectria parasitica, Magnaporthe grisea), insects (e.g., Beauveria bassiana, Cordyceps sp.), invertebrates (e.g., Drechslerella anchonia), vertebrates (e.g., Coccidioides immitis, Candia albicans) and other fungi (e.g., Trichoderma viride, Ampelomyces quisqualis). The majority of fungi, however, are saprophytes, obtaining nutrition through the brake down of non-living organic matter.

Effects of crosslink density in zwitterionic hydrogel coatings on their antifouling performance and susceptibility to silt uptake

Hydrogel coatings effectively reduce the attachment of proteins and organisms in laboratory assays, in particular when made from zwitterionic monomers. In field experiments with multiple species and non-living material, such coatings suffer from adsorption of particulate matter. In this study, the zwitterionic monomer 3-[N-(2-methacryloyloxyethyl)-N,N-dimethylammonio] propanesulfonate (SPE) was copolymerized with increasing amounts of the photo-crosslinker benzophenon-4-yloxyethyl methacrylate (BPEMA) to systematically alter the density of crosslinks between the polymer chains. The effect of increasing crosslink density on the antifouling (AF) performance of the coatings was investigated in laboratory assays and fields tests. In both cases, the AF performance was improved by increasing the crosslinker content. The coatings reduced protein, diatom, and barnacle accumulation, and showed better resistance to biomass accumulation. The findings underline that the marine AF performance of hydrogel coatings does not only depend on the specific chemical structure of the polymers, but also on their physico-chemical properties such as rigidity and swelling.

Lagrangian Time Scale of Passive Rotation for Mesoscale Particles in Turbulence

Turbulence induces rotation in the living and the non-living materials in the ocean. The time scale of rotation for a living organism is important in understanding an organism's feeding efficiency, mating, prey capture rate etc. This time scale is also crucial for understanding the migration of non-living materials such as microplastics. Herein, we investigate the tumbling motion of mesoscale particles that resemble organisms of intermediate size, such as zooplankton that appear in the ocean. Using time-resolved measurements of the orientation of rigid inertial fibers in a turbulence-tank, we analyze the autocorrelation of their tumbling rate. The correlation time ($\tau_d$) is well predicted by Kolmogorov inertial-range scaling based on the fiber length ($L$) when the fiber inertia can be neglected. For inertial fibers, we propose a simple model considering fiber inertia (measured by a tumbling Stokes number) and a viscous torque which accurately predicts both the correlation time and the variance of the tumbling rate. Our measurements and the theoretical model provide a basic understanding of the rotational response of an intermediately sized organism to the surrounding turbulence in its non-active state.

Short-term efficiency of epibenthic microbial mat components on phosphorus sorption

Microbial mats may be an alternative tool for phosphorus (P) remediation of eutrophic coastal waters. The main objective of this work was to determine the importance that the living and non-living components of the mats have on P short-term sorption. Microbial mats were collected in the Paso Seco coastal flat, Argentina (40°38′3.32″S; 62°12′24.85″W), and incubated under controlled conditions in the lab. An adsorption curve was performed with the microbial mats. Active mats had a Freundlich constant 8.9-fold higher than underlying sandy sediments. Collected samples were then treated as follows: maintaining and disturbing their structural integrity (natural and autoclaved, respectively), and both conditions were incubated with filtered seawater, without and with phosphate addition (0 and 5 mg P L−1, respectively). Natural mats had a significantly-higher phosphate removal percentage than autoclaved ones, suggesting that living microorganisms increase P short-term sorption efficiency by ~25%, while non-living matter may account for the rest.

How the Nonhuman World Influences Homeowner Yard Management in the American Residential Macrosystem

Although the yard is a hybrid social and material landscape, much social science research emphasizes the socio-cultural factors and has mostly neglected the potentially important influence of plants, animals, and the nonliving material world on homeowners’ decision-making. Using interviews across six metropolitan areas in the United States, we investigated the ways residential yards’ nonhuman context is perceived to influence homeowners’ relationships with and planning for their yards. We found that nonhuman dynamics establish boundaries of yard-related decision-making, and that homeowners described their relations with the nonhuman context of the yard as cooperative, oppositional, and negotiable. We call for social science in urban spaces to be more explicitly informed by a consideration of nonhuman agency, and offer an ethical reflection of who or what is considered to have a right to cohabitate in homeowners’ yards.

Living Ashes

Here we discuss Living Ashes II, a performance alongside protocells staged at the 2016 CLICK Festival in Helsingør. We use membranes, material and metaphorical, to make sense of our role as human performers in a more-than-human assemblage, exploring the notion of microperformativity and the consequences of considering matter as capable of ‘performativity’. Protocells are materially animated by their membrane, their locomotion fuelled by the energy of rupturing chemical bonds and interfacial tension. Other, more metaphorical boundaries are produced by the way biotechnologies have engulfed and absorbed creative practices, creating numerous sites of exchange and contamination that make it harder to create a narrative wholly independent of scientific referents. We use an auto-ethnographic approach to make sense of the various difficulties we had in staging protocells — emerging from our difficulty in negotiating both physical and metaphorical membranes and finding the sites of transference between scientific and artistic practice as much as those between the inside and outside of a petri dish. We conclude by extrapolating our experience to the wider field of bioart, suggesting that although the field can be understood through its progression from a symbolic to a material engagement with life, the membrane dividing both is highly porous, resulting in myriad combinations of human and non-human performativity. We discuss the importance of tactics that allow audiences to understand the transformational processes that take place in front of them — tactics which are however always entangled in a dense matrix of symbolic associations, generating conflicting messages that can undermine efforts to dissolve the divide between living and non-living matter.

Microbial Keywording

Drawing on object-oriented-ontology we aim for a hybrid language that not only processes formal symbols but interacts with the microbes in the speaker’s mouth. We argue that the metaphors historically used to frame the relationship between oral microbiota and speech cannot account for the co-creative material relationship between human speech and microbial, environmental and biotechnological needs. In our performances we harvest oral yeast microbes from the audience. Via a spectrogram, repetitively spoken phonemes drive pattern pumps, which add pheromones to the microbes, the latter which then are faded out. In the microbes, for some replication cycles an ecological adaptation to the individual phonemes persists, affirming – in our definition – some phonemes and deleting others, thereby improving the eco-sphere in the mouth by changing the alphabetical order of the input phonemes. The audience observes the adaptation by respelling words. We propose ‘microbial speech’ as a category between semantic and phonetic meaning, with a transcorporeal mattering between speech and the body as a new ecolinguistic quality. We aim at a language becoming a biological state in order to protect its own ecology. We consider these collective posthuman forms of relationality, subjectivity and biopolitical praxis as multiple ecologies of belonging and a more ethical mode of microbes existing in-common with language, affirming the transversal relations of all living and non-living matter.

Study of Nanotechnology and Its Application

Nanotechnology is new frontiers of this century. The world is facing great challenges in meeting rising demands for basic commodities(e.g., food, water and energy), finished goods (e.g., cellphones, cars and airplanes) and services (e.g., shelter, healthcare and employment) while reducing and minimizing the impact of human activities on Earth’s global environment and climate. Nanotechnology has emerged as a versatile platform that could provide efficient, cost-effective and environmentally acceptable solutions to the global sustainability challenges facing society. In recent years there has been a rapid increase in nanotechnology in the fields of medicine and more specifically in targeted drug delivery. Opportunities of utilizing nanotechnology to address global challenges in (1) water purification, (2) clean energy technologies, (3) greenhouse gases management, (4) materials supply and utilization, and (5) green manufacturing and hemistry. Smart delivery of nutrients, bio-separation of proteins, rapid sampling of biological and chemical contaminants, and nano encapsulation of nutraceuticals are some of the emerging topics of nanotechnology for food and agriculture. Nanotechnology is helping to considerably improve, even revolutionize, many technology and Industry sectors: information technology, energy, environmental science, medicine, homeland security, food safety, and transportation, among many others. Today’s nanotechnology harnesses current progress in chemistry, physics, materials science, and biotechnology to create novel materials that have unique properties because their structures are determined on the nanometer scale. This paper summarizes the various applications of nanotechnology in recent decades Nanotechnology is one of the leading scientific fields today since it combines knowledge from the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Medicine, Informatics, and Engineering. It is an emerging technological field with great potential to lead in great breakthroughs that can be applied in real life. Novel Nano and biomaterials, and Nano devices are fabricated and controlled by nanotechnology tools and techniques, which investigate and tune the properties, responses, and functions of living and non-living matter, at sizes below100 nm. The application and use of Nano materials in electronic and mechanical devices, in optical and magnetic components, quantum computing, tissue engineering, and other biotechnologies, with smallest features, widths well below 100 nm, are the economically most important parts of the nanotechnology nowadays and presumably in the near future. The number of Nano products is rapidly growing since more and more Nano engineered materials are reaching the global market the continuous revolution in nanotechnology will result in the fabrication of nanomaterial with properties and functionalities which are going to have positive changes in the lives of our citizens, be it in health, environment, electronics or any other field. In the energy generation challenge where the conventional fuel resources cannot remain the dominant energy source, taking into account the increasing consumption demand and the CO2 .Emissions alternative renewable energy sources based on new technologies have to be promoted. Innovative solar cell technologies that utilize nanostructured materials and composite systems such as organic photovoltaic offer great technological potential due to their attractive properties such as the potential of large-scale and low-cost roll-to-roll manufacturing processes