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Slime Molds as a Cleaning Solution


0111narwhalz

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This subject has intrigued me for quite some time. Suppose one cultivated a plasmoidial slime mold such that it will eat household debris, and then built the furnishings to accommodate said slime mold. How hard would it be to create such an organism, given the state of existing slime molds? Would it require genetic engineering, or would simple selective breeding be sufficient?

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^ This. The law of conservation of mass still exists, and there's also the issue of slime molds going everywhere you don't want them.

Regarding difficulty, the difference between using genetic engineering vs. breeding is really one of time. If you have enough time, selective breeding will get the job done, but if you don't, and you have oodles of money, genetic engineering will get it done faster.

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This subject has intrigued me for quite some time. Suppose one cultivated a plasmoidial slime mold such that it will eat household debris, and then built the furnishings to accommodate said slime mold. How hard would it be to create such an organism, given the state of existing slime molds? Would it require genetic engineering, or would simple selective breeding be sufficient?

To create such an organism? Probably fairly easy to make something that would survive in a humid house - arid climates I'm not sure. However, an organism that eats household debris like pet hair, dead skin cells, and crumbs will also eat a lot of other stuff. The hard part would be making sure the modified organism doesn't become an invasive species.

Conservation of mass isn't that big an issue - I'd imagine a slime mold's metabolism would convert most dead organic stuff into gases such as CO2, water vapor, maybe something like ammonia.

Another problem is that slime molds are, well, slimy. I don't think most people would want a wet microbial mat growing on their floor - if nothing else you could slip on it and break your neck.

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If you suspend a (relatively) fine grid over the top surface of your floor, etc, the slime mold could live under the grid and you could walk or place objects on top. Occasional excursions by the slime mold would be permissible, because it would tend to get cut off or separated by feet, dishes, et cetera. A sort of habitat canister in each room would sustain the slime mold in events of excessive cleanliness, as well as encouraging the mold to stick around in the room. Rather than scrubbing dishes, one could put the difficult stuff in a box. The slime mold would cover it, eat the food, and then drop away when the food runs out. The dishes could then be removed from the box, sanitized, and returned into circulation.

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If you suspend a (relatively) fine grid over the top surface of your floor, etc, the slime mold could live under the grid and you could walk or place objects on top. Occasional excursions by the slime mold would be permissible, because it would tend to get cut off or separated by feet, dishes, et cetera. A sort of habitat canister in each room would sustain the slime mold in events of excessive cleanliness, as well as encouraging the mold to stick around in the room. Rather than scrubbing dishes, one could put the difficult stuff in a box. The slime mold would cover it, eat the food, and then drop away when the food runs out. The dishes could then be removed from the box, sanitized, and returned into circulation.

There are several problems.

1. Your grid must be separated from the floor by at least a few millimeters, be strong enough to support the weight of people and furniture, and be fine enough to not be unpleasant to walk on. Does this even exist?

2. You still have to clean the grid itself.

Using GMO organisms for more efficient disposal of trash is a decent idea, but it's better to just use a composting vat. If you want an environmentally way of cleaning off objects, don't bother with a whole slime mold in your house: farm the desired microorganisms for their digestive enzymes and use the enzymes in cleaning fluid to replace less environmentally-friendly chemicals. I'm pretty sure there are already enzyme-based dish and laundry detergents, pet urine smell removers, etc.

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There are several problems.

1. Your grid must be separated from the floor by at least a few millimeters, be strong enough to support the weight of people and furniture, and be fine enough to not be unpleasant to walk on. Does this even exist?

2. You still have to clean the grid itself.

Using GMO organisms for more efficient disposal of trash is a decent idea, but it's better to just use a composting vat. If you want an environmentally way of cleaning off objects, don't bother with a whole slime mold in your house: farm the desired microorganisms for their digestive enzymes and use the enzymes in cleaning fluid to replace less environmentally-friendly chemicals. I'm pretty sure there are already enzyme-based dish and laundry detergents, pet urine smell removers, etc.

But these biologic enzymes work best (or sometimes only) at body temperature... Not very handy for conservation and cleaning

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The mesh doesn't have to be suspended only from the edges; it can have support structures across its area. As for fine enough to be comfortable to walk on, think ordinary kitchen strainer. You can run your finger over it, and it feels like coarse cloth. But I'm pretty sure it could be penetrated by a couple of pseudopods. They might take a few holes, but that's fine.

The enzyme-based method seems promising, but the point is that the house would be self-cleaning.

Luis: That's the idea. Maybe use some of Armchair's enzymes to do it. You might say, "What's the point of this if you still have to scrub it?" But you don't have to scrub it; just wiiipe it away with a soapy sponge or one of those sanitising wipes.

And yes, "What could possibly go wrong" is definitely a motivation for this question. But it's only a small one. ​Right?

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In a way, what you are describing is what happens already outdoors. A whole ecosystem of organisms work to break down anything that can be broken down and nutrients are efficiently and endlessly recycled. A meadow or a forrest floor are self cleaning, but the end point is leaf litter or soil, not polished parquet floor or carpet. Houses already have their own ecosystem of dust mites, spiders, ear wigs, silverfish, mould and bacteria that feed on the organic detritus that we bring in. And rather than welcoming them because they eat dirt, we count them as part of the problem. The business of cleaning essentially consists of removing organic matter as completely as possible to cut off the bottom of the food chain and shrink the ecosystem. What you are proposing is to leave the energy source in place and instead just add a new organism to eat it. But what about the organisms that eat this organism? At best, you will replace one domestic ecosystem with another, but you won't make your house any cleaner.

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