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IMAGE: With Army funding, researchers developed a new way to generate tough, functional materials using a mixture of bacteria and yeast similar to the kombucha mother used to ferment tea. view more
Credit: Tzu-Chieh (Zijay) Tang, MIT
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. Kombucha tea, a trendy fermented beverage, inspired researchers to develop a new way to generate tough, functional materials using a mixture of bacteria and yeast similar to the kombucha mother used to ferment tea.
With Army funding, using this mixture, also called a SCOBY, or symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, engineers at MIT and Imperial College London produced cellulose embedded with enzymes that can perform a variety of functions, such as sensing environmental pollutants and self-healing materials.
Scientists Engineer New Living Materials by Hacking The Basis of Kombucha
12 JANUARY 2021
Scientists have created new kinds of living materials by tweaking the base ingredients of kombucha – the popular tea drink fermented with a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (aka SCOBY).
This kind of tea fungus – sometimes called kombucha mother – can do a lot more than just produce sour-tasting beverages, it seems.
By modifying the mixture of the culture, researchers were able to make engineered living materials (ELMs) that could one day have all sorts of practical applications, such as sensing light or detecting contaminants.
Better still, the scientists say these living materials can easily be made at home, much like tending a sourdough starter in your kitchen.
Engineers at MIT and Imperial College London have developed a new way to generate tough, functional materials using a mix of bacteria and yeast similar to the kombucha mother used to ferment tea. Using this mix, called a Syn-SCOBY (synthetic symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), they produced cellulose embedded with enzymes that can perform a variety of functions, such as sensing environmental pollutants.