DailyDirt: More Miraculous Manmade Materials

There's no shortage of new man-made materials being developed, and they come in all different shapes, sizes and purposes. Sometimes it's about making something old in a new way, or giving something common an extremely uncommon property - or just producing something in previously unimaginable quantities. Here are some new developments from the world of synthetics.

• Concrete is a significant but often-overlooked source of greenhouse gas emissions, but what if you could replace it with a new material made from those very emissions themselves? Researches have found a way to turn captured carbon dioxide into a new construction material they've dubbed CO₂NCRETE, though it's currently only at the proof-of-concept stage. [url]
• Transparent wood has been created at the microscopic level, but now researchers are demonstrating a new form that could be mass-produced. Wood has endured as one of the most reliable and useful building materials, and a transparent version could be an ideal material for solar cells, among other things. [url]
• Bolt Threads is a startup that just raised $50 million in funding to "brew" spider silk and other insect fibres in huge quantities. Spider silk is an incredible material limited primarily by the fact that it is extremely difficult and expensive to farm, but these new methods could completely change that within the next few years (and change the face of the global textile market in the process). [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.