Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a prototype of a wearable that vents itself automatically in response to sweat and it does so using bacteria.
The garment with bacteria-triggered vents represents just a stepping stone on their way to creating shirts that do something even better: produce a pleasant smell when you sweat.However, when the person wearing it starts to sweat, the bacteria on the inside (closest to the skin) absorbs moisture and relaxes, causing the latex to bend away from the skin and—ahhh— open up a little ventilation flap.
What’s more, the system works whether the bacteria are alive or not but there’s one thing they haven’t done with the clothing yet, wash it. They need to figure out ways to ensure that the bacteria stay attached to the fabric of any wearable beyond the prototype stage, perhaps by causing bacteria to bond chemically to a fabric or even integrating bacteria into the threads of a fabric.
Why wash clothes anyway ?
Talking about washing clothes leads Wang to ask a question that many children and teens have probably also wondered: why bother to launder your clothing in the first place? To do that, they’d need to find a way to get the microorganisms to stay on or in the fabric; they’d also need to ensure the bacteria or yeast would have a reservoir of energy even when they don't have a food source.
Imagine, if every time you went to the gym, microbes like yeast could consume your sweat and release a smell like bread? After all, a bready aroma might be nicer to sniff at the gym than, you know, the odor of that sweaty person on the treadmill next to you.
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