Slog - Comments on French Rubber http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber Holy shit! The French have invented a rubber that can repair itself. The as-yet-unnamed material - a form of artificial rubber - is made from vegetable oil and a component of urine. The substance, described in the journal Nature, produces surfaces when cut that retain a strong chemical attraction to each other. Pieces of the material join together again as if never parted without the need for glue or a special treatment. This remarkable property comes from careful engineering of the molecules in the material. The French researchers are already making kilogramme quantities in their Paris laboratories and say the... Copyright 2008 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:48:57 -0800 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:17:24 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Michael Wow! I especially like the green aspect.

]]> Michael http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943386 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943386 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:12:51 -0800 Comment by Andrew They SAY it is green...until we discover in 30 years it releases toxins into the air that cause our lungs to turn to black mushy tar.

]]> Andrew http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943397 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943397 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:15:28 -0800 Comment by Katelyn They should make condoms out of this.

]]> Katelyn http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943402 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943402 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:16:32 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV Ooooh! Kinky!

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943417 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943417 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:21:35 -0800 Comment by JMR Vegetable oil and urine? I discovered this myself a few nights ago.

]]> JMR http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943423 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943423 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:25:15 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle But what if it repairs itself after it breaks?

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943429 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943429 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:29:37 -0800 Comment by Michigan Matt The Future Is Now!

]]> Michigan Matt http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943439 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943439 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:34:04 -0800 Comment by NapoleonXIV Plausible deniability, Will......

]]> NapoleonXIV http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943452 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943452 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:37:15 -0800 Comment by Peter F This story reminds me of the recent study that found that DNA strands can recognize and seek out similar molecular structure over distance, to help swap genes and recombine:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124103151.htm

]]> Peter F http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943461 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943461 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:41:03 -0800 Comment by Vasya My reaction was pretty similar to Charles'. Holy shit!

]]> Vasya http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943463 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943463 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:42:20 -0800 Comment by Super Jesse I thought that it was nano-mites that were used to rebuild tokyo in that book. Call me picky, but microscopic little autonomous construction robots are a far cry from rubber and piss in my book.

]]> Super Jesse http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943478 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943478 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:44:32 -0800 Comment by levide I was thinking more of "Gravity's Rainbow"'s Imipolex-G, myself.

]]> levide http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943480 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943480 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:44:38 -0800 Comment by leek I thought the post WAS about self-repairing condoms at first, what with Mudede's frequent Europeanisms.

]]> leek http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943498 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943498 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:57:08 -0800 Comment by treacle Clearly the superior usage for this rubber is self-repairing bicycle tyres.

]]> treacle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943527 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943527 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:05:59 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe Condoms are for pussies.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943589 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943589 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:01:17 -0800 Comment by skweetis Since it's as yet unnamed, can I suggest calling it "rupbber". That's rubber with "p" in it.

]]> skweetis http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943612 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943612 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:17:24 -0800 Comment by ho' know according to Chas it is 'a rubber' they've invented, not 'rubber' so happy happy joy joy for all those shooting live ammo!!

]]> ho' know http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943638 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943638 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:31:42 -0800 Comment by Katelyn Yeah I think that's why I thought condoms... "a" rubber

]]> Katelyn http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943671 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943671 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:20:17 -0800 Comment by Steve Million dollar question is whether or not it dries out. Here in Arizona, cars would last forever if not for gaskets, cracking dashes and rubber seals since there's no rust.

]]> Steve http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943745 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c943745 Science Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:39:55 -0800 Comment by NaFun Man, do you remember the days when stuff would, like, break? Seriously, things would crack, split, chip, sometimes even SHATTER. And that was it, you couldn't use that thing anymore. You'd have to go out and buy a new one. That's some crazy ass shit, man. Musta sucked living in the dark ages like that.

]]> NaFun http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c944021 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/french_rubber#c944021 Science Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:17:24 -0800