Submitted by _GreenMartian t3_1200p2m in nottheonion
Comments
WimpyLimpet t1_jdf4u9d wrote
>Potato starch wasn't the first medium that University of Manchester scientists tested in their search for ISRU building supplies. In a previous study, the same team explored the possibility of using human blood and urine as binding agents for their extraterrestrial concrete. The blood and urine of astronauts, after all, are renewable resources, and they're available wherever an astronaut's mission might take them.
>Concrete from the researchers' trials using blood and urine also produced strengths above traditional mixtures, measuring around 40 MPa. These bricks' construction, however, would require that astronauts repeatedly drain their own bodily fluids, which was viewed as a drawback.
>Aled Roberts, the lead researcher for the StarCrete project and research fellow for the Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub at the University of Manchester, concedes that using potato flakes is preferable to blood and pee.
MikeOnBike t1_jdf51x8 wrote
Mark Watney knew that.
Krayzewolf t1_jdf5i1u wrote
Well that’s good I guess.
[deleted] t1_jdf5o7w wrote
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Singular_Thought t1_jdf7ppq wrote
[GPT making notes on usefulness of humans]
Swyping-EditOptional t1_jdfch6h wrote
Not only that, but it would also contribute to population reduction.
Fetlocks_Glistening t1_jdfdfax wrote
Umm.. how come they zeroed in on those two specific alternatives, rather than, say, mud, sand, cellulose or plastic?
Jman50k t1_jdfduf3 wrote
Finally some science news relevant to my diverse interests such as blood and potatoes.
THC-squared t1_jdfe37o wrote
Because not every planet has those. But astronauts hopefully have blood, if not then we have an event horizon scenario.
[deleted] t1_jdfeffe wrote
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J4MES101 t1_jdfeqlw wrote
Well I could have told them that
Jeraimee t1_jdfgm7g wrote
But only one of them tastes fantastic. The other is a potato.
Singer-Such t1_jdfivuv wrote
vineyardmike t1_jdfmd39 wrote
Gpt.... Please note that my blood has no practical uses outside of my body.
ItchyK t1_jdfmxas wrote
Are these scientists just bored? Phoning it in? Stoned? What's next, Scientists find that Bananas are better than saliva for making space carpets.
Why are they space bricks? Wouldn't they just be bricks? In space, but still just bricks. And why do you need bricks in space? If you are going to use them on the Moon or Mars, they would be Moon or Mars bricks, not space bricks.
I think these scientists are just fucking with us.
nool_ t1_jdfoa2t wrote
Plastic is probably less desired it's self as it will leave microplastics
bubba7557 t1_jdfri1k wrote
So if the robots run out of potatoes are we next?
WimpyLimpet t1_jdfry8z wrote
>Are these scientists just bored?
You gotta use what you have. Concrete requires liquid to create, and on Mars there is a shortage of liquids.
ManyFacedGodxxx t1_jdfsqu5 wrote
Ahhh, what recipes did they try? I mean I’ve had great success using human blood for…. Ah, maybe…
Ok-Row-6131 t1_jdfwxcz wrote
The Irish are sweating right now.
Actual__Wizard t1_jdfx74f wrote
Well that's good to know, but I'm a little bit confused as to why somebody was suggesting that human blood could be used to make concrete bricks in space?
Aldayne t1_jdfz006 wrote
Wait, what? Why is human blood being considered for anything other than being used for human blood? Vampire jokes aside.
Recycling gone wrong.
Bumm_by_Design t1_jdg7oam wrote
Makes the buildings more eatible
HRHGracktheGreat t1_jdg84j5 wrote
Plot twist. In space human blood is potatoes.
Banana-Oni t1_jdg87uz wrote
But in order to get enough blood to make bricks, wouldn’t you need to wait ages for it to regenerate between blood draws so you don’t exsanguinate the astronauts?
Either way this seems fuckin bananas to a layman. Next study: “Cashew milk is better than liquid spider silk for making space cheese, scientists say”
[deleted] t1_jdg8hbv wrote
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plumquat t1_jdge4yk wrote
There's no oil in space.
PUNd_it t1_jdghmu8 wrote
I dunno, ever since I heard about blood pudding I've been waiting for a sci-fi novel wherein the elites make it from the poors
Edit: now I'm nervous that if it's not a book, maybe it's the future
mrselffdestruct t1_jdgij4n wrote
And theres no shortage of blood thatll hit us any time soon either
[deleted] t1_jdgjzro wrote
Persistent_Parkie t1_jdgltof wrote
Don't worry, I'm sure GPT won't make any modest proposals.
nool_ t1_jdgnpbn wrote
you done need oil for all plastics
supercyberlurker t1_jdgqw8m wrote
I asked gpt about it and it said that human corpses can be used as fertilizer to grow potatoes, but that it wasn't recommended and there were better fertilizers.
So then I asked if it I were skynet and didn't care about human life would it make sense, and it said there would be legal or societal backlash... and I asked if it skynet would care about that and it said it wouldn't.
... so I think we're good!
magick_68 t1_jdgtl2i wrote
I would call that uplifting news for aspiring mars colonists.
NoWayNotThisAgain t1_jdgvchc wrote
So… was making bricks out of human blood an option?
Bleu_Cerise t1_jdh1xgo wrote
Sooo…. Someone tried. Got it
monogreenforthewin t1_jdh4t3g wrote
I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this.- Mark Watney
NightFeatherArt t1_jdh5rvh wrote
How...uh.....how do they know this?
Grostleton t1_jdh75xx wrote
Mmmm, space cheese
DeepLock8808 t1_jdhekef wrote
You need some bricks? You have to wait two months between small loads while having access to large supplies of food and water that would presumably make excellent bricks. Also making the bricks reduces your physical capability to use the bricks.
Shoreditchstrangular t1_jdhhiun wrote
Po-Tay-Toes, boil em, mash em, send them into space
dark_hypernova t1_jdhja01 wrote
So I've noticed.
generals_test t1_jdhkz2x wrote
Because it is a renewable resource and would be available where ever there are astronauts. They also tested urine.
lundewoodworking t1_jdhp6y8 wrote
Not true it can replace eggs in a cake recipe
hilburn t1_jdhxq48 wrote
The idea was not to bleed astronauts dry, it was more "what can we do with human liquid waste?" so they were investigating urine, sweat, blood etc
Froyo_Overall t1_jdhz57p wrote
r/BrandNewSentence
iamamuttonhead t1_jdi2jsf wrote
Well, that's relieving. I didn't know we were planning on harvesting human blood to make bricks, though.
Low-Equipment-2621 t1_jdi7rj8 wrote
Vampire scientists disagree.
SnowProkt22 t1_jdi9qc1 wrote
Soylent Green is people!
Ahelex t1_jdimv01 wrote
I'm struggling a bit to think how there would be enough blood as human liquid waste to be considered for making space bricks.
hilburn t1_jditb0y wrote
My memory of the original study was looking at it pretty watered down so you could get a reasonable-ish number of bricks per point, but also that it was a bit of a "well they made bricks with animal blood in the past, so let's see what kinda of properties they have" kind of study.
I guess in the event of an astronaut dying they could harvest the blood to make a porch or something though
NemosGhost t1_jdizypq wrote
Well, it's a good thing Matt Damon proved we can grow potatoes on Mars then isn't it.
JubalHarshaw23 t1_jdj389f wrote
Soylent Green kind of follows that plot.
PUNd_it t1_jdj3wzz wrote
Oh shit, touche. Haven't seen it actually
Poppanaattori89 t1_jdjyhw2 wrote
Not only that, but it's metal as fuck.
PerNewton t1_jdlolcb wrote
Whew!
Severe-Cookie693 t1_jdpuu8c wrote
Yet there’s this popular health shake that you can live off of. It contains everything your body needs and is called Soylent.
Nobody I know who has drunk it even knows of Soylent Green!
jjnefx t1_jdf4jz9 wrote
Yeah, that's just a hypothesis.
I say human blood is superior!