A team of researchers and students are exploring the potential of biodesign in cities of the future. Blending science, design and technology, they are developing building materials that could be grown, with properties like self-coloring and healing.

London

A team of researchers and students from two UK universities, known as Living Assembly, are pioneering the use of biodesign to create building materials that are grown rather than extracted. These biomaterials, developed from organisms such as microbes and mycelium, offer properties like self-colouring, moisture response, and self-healing, potentially reducing the environmental impact of the construction industry.

The research is being showcased at the London Design Biennale and involves developing bacterial cement and probiotic walls, as well as exploring the architectural use of mycelium and bacterial cellulose. While some of these technologies are nearing market readiness, the widespread adoption of living buildings is expected to take several more years, with ongoing challenges in scaling and regulatory approval.

These scientists are trying to ‘grow’ buildings

The vision for the future is buildings and cities that are alive. This is not science fiction. I think this is something that has some near future applications. Living Assembly are a team of researchers and students from two UK universities exploring the potential of biodesign. Biomaterials, materials that are grown rather than extracted, offer a more sustainable future. But it also changes how we consider ourselves as humans in relation to nature. This emerging field blends science, design, and technology, developing new processes and materials with organisms such as living microbes and mycelium, the root system of mushrooms. Applications include clothing, textiles, packaging, and in this case, buildings. The construction industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world and we've shifted away from an idea of construction which is based on what we have in the places that we want to construct, utilizing the resources that we've got available. With the climate changing, our houses need to be able to adapt to the climate as well and having this adaptable material means that instead of having to completely replace your cladding or rebuild your house, it might be that your house can actually just adapt to the environment. The teams have been working together for months and are currently showcasing their research at London Design Biennale. It feels a little bit, you know, bizarre, I don't know, because it's alive. If you knew that these walls were living, that were breathing as well as you, you'd probably take care of it a little bit more and be more appreciative of its nature. At Northumbria, they're concentrating on the biological, developing different materials including a bacterial cement and exploring properties like self-colouring, reaction to moisture and one that can heal itself. It forms a protective layer where it's exposed to moisture and it cracks, just fills the gap and bridges it and closes it off again. This is only holding together and being formed by the bacteria precipitating these crystals. If we get to the point where our environments really do become truly living, we're going to have to think about our buildings a little bit like we do perhaps our gardens, that they need to be tended, cared for. Meanwhile at the Bartlett, they're looking at how these materials can be used in the buildings themselves, using physical modelling and computer-aided design, researching the use of mycelium and bacterial cellulose in architecture and probiotic walls. In a living building, the mycelium plays a huge role. It can create opportunities for architectural design. We need to move away from the idea that building materials need to be impermeable and sterile. We might need to look back to evolutionary pasts when we were regularly exposed to nature, untreated timbers, thatched roofs, mud walls, soils. And what we saw over time is that architecture became increasingly separated from nature. Current built environments no longer contain the good kinds of bacteria that our bodies need for health. Once proven, there are still obvious challenges in terms of scaling up and passing building regulations. Some of the technologies that we're developing are actually very close to market, which we should be seeing in the next two or three years as real products. These ones that might continue to live and be part of a building which is adapting and changing. I think we're looking at maybe a 10-year horizon before we start to really see those.

A mass shooting in Anaconda triggers community shock and concern, as witnesses share their experiences and the investigation unfolds amid rising tensions.

Anaconda

Community in shock following deadly shooting in Anaconda

U.S. President Donald Trump said he's ordered his administration to fire the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, on the same day new data was released showing weak job growth in July. The Labor Department also sharply revised job growth for May and June down.

Washington

Trump orders firing of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner

U.S. President Donald Trump says he ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the "appropriate regions" as a response to comments made by Russia's former president. CBS News' Charlie D'Agata reports.

Trump says nuclear submarines moved in response to Russia

Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell has been transferred to a Bryan, Texas, prison, CBS News confirms. Maxwell was previously held in Tallahassee, Florida.

Bryan

Ghislaine Maxwell transferred to Texas prison

The announcement comes as international pressure mounts on Israel over the war in Gaza and the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.

Ljubljana

Middle East Conflict

Slovenia becomes first EU country to ban arms trade with Israel

The United States imposed sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials just as other nations are stressing the importance of the PA in governing Gaza in the event of an end to the devastating war in the enclave.

New York

U.S. sanctions Palestinian Authority in growing diplomatic rift

Ukraine’s Parliament has reversed a controversial law signed last week by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which would have allowed the government greater control over anti-corruption agencies. The decision comes as the country faces one of its most significant political crises since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine parliament reverses bill on anti-corruption agencies amid crisis

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods that don't meet the terms of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement to 35 per cent.

Ottawa

Global Tariffs

Trump raises Canada tariff to 35%, grants extension to Mexico

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 31 in a bid to salvage Gaza truce talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where a global hunger monitor has warned that famine is unfolding.

Jerusalem

Trump's envoy meets Netanyahu for Gaza aid, ceasefire push

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is visiting Israel as more countries join the call to recognize a Palestinian state in September. CBS News' Robert Berger has the latest.

Trump envoy in Israel as Canada joins call on Palestinian statehood

President Donald Trump says the U.S. will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea as part of a deal that eases, for now, tension with a top-10 trading partner and key Asian ally.

Trump says U.S. will set 15% tariff on South Korean imports

U.S. President Donald Trump slapped a 50% tariff on most Brazilian goods to fight what he has called a "witch hunt" against former President Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from heavier levies.

Rio de Janeiro

Trump hits Brazil with tariffs, sanctions but key sectors excluded

Widespread damage from tsunami waves after one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded appears to have been largely avoided. Experts say this event should be used to gauge disaster preparedness for a more serious situation in the future.

Okinawa

Tsunami damage less severe than feared after Russian earthquake

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada will recognize a Palestinian state later this year if the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, meets certain conditions.

Canada to recognize Palestinian state in September if conditions met

Australia said on Wednesday (July 30) it will add YouTube to sites covered by its world-first ban on social media for teenagers, reversing an earlier decision to exempt the Alphabet-owned video-sharing site and potentially setting up a legal challenge.

Canberra

Australia expands teen social media ban to YouTube

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (July 30) the United States will impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from India, as well as an unspecified penalty for buying Russian weapons and oil, on Aug. 1.

Trump says U.S. to hit India with 25% tariff starting August 1

Mourners flooded the streets of Birmingham to celebrate the life of rock-and-roll legend Ozzy Osbourne during his funeral procession in the United Kingdom. Mark Savage, a music reporter at the BBC, a CBS News partner, joins with more details.

Birmingham

Ozzy Osbourne fans flood Birmingham streets to mourn late music icon

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters before departing from Scotland that Jeffrey Epstein poached workers from his Mar-a-Lago spa. Trump mentioned Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's most vocal accusers, in his latest remarks.

Trump says Epstein 'stole' young women from Mar-a-Lago spa

Owdeh Hathaleen, a 31-year‑old Palestinian activist, teacher, and filmmaker behind the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was shot dead by an Israeli settler near the village of Umm al‑Khair in the South Hebron Hills.

Palestinian activist killed by Israeli settler in West Bank

A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula triggered tsunami waves of up to 16 feet nearby, and sparked evacuation orders in Japan, Hawaii and across the Pacific on Wednesday (July 30).

Hawaii

Tsunami reaches Hawaii after huge quake shakes Russia's Far East

The U.N. General Assembly brought high-level officials together to promote a two-state solution to the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict. Israel and the United States are boycotting the two-day meeting, co-chaired by the foreign ministers of France and Saudi Arabia

Israel and U.S. boycott UN Summit for two-state solution

With numerous countries facing an Aug. 1 trade agreement deadline, officials in the Trump administration say China could get an extension while negotiations continue.

Trump officials suggest potential tariff truce with China

Police say the man who shot and killed four people in a New York City office building before he took his own life had a "documented mental health history." Mayor Eric Adams says he may have been targeting the National Football League (NFL).

Manhattan gunman had 'documented mental health history'

Jeffrey Epstein-associate Ghislaine Maxwell is offering to testify before Congress in exchange for concessions like full immunity. CBS News Department of Justice reporter Jake Rosen has more.

Ghislaine Maxwell offers to testify before Congress

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday (July 29) Britain was prepared to recognize a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly unless Israel takes a number of steps to improve life for Palestinians.

UK to recognize Palestinian state unless Israel takes action

Russia launched overnight air strikes on over 70 Ukrainian cities, killing more than 20 people, according to President Zelenskyy. A pregnant woman died near a hospital in the southeast, while a prison strike killed at least 17.

Deadly Russian air raids hit Ukraine as Trump warns of sanctions

For the first time, human rights groups inside Israel are accusing their own government of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel insists it is targeting Hamas, not civilians—despite nearly 60,000 Palestinian deaths since the war began almost two years ago.

Rights groups in Israel accuse country of genocide

As Gaza’s crisis worsens, France is advocating for a two-state solution at a UN conference co-chaired by the French foreign minister. The meeting follows President Macron’s announcement that France will formally recognize a Palestinian state in September.

France leads UN talks on Israel-Palestine two-state solution

Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was found guilty of bribery and witness tampering in an unprecedented trial that has shaken the country.

Bogotá

Ex-Colombian president Uribe convicted of witness tampering, bribery

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev posted on social media that President Trump's deadline push for a ceasefire with Ukraine is "a threat and a step towards war."

Breakdown