In Search of the Self-Repairing House

Researchers are hoping to replicate the advantages of self-repairing biological materials like bark, coral, and skin in building materials.

In Toronto, Alphabet's urban innovation lab Sidewalk Labs will be using mushroom roots as insulation in its buildings. These roots have already been used previously in packaging material, CNN reports. "We believe it's possible to accelerate urban innovation by creating a new type of place where cutting edge technology and people first design are built into the very foundation," said CEO Dan Doctoroff.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) the arm of the U.S. Department of Defense that researches new technologies, launched a project last year to create new types of materials that have the structural abilities of traditional building materials but the attributes of living systems. DARPA has a track record of helping invent the future -- it laid the foundation for the Internet and self-driving vehicles.

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