Meet Dino Pet, the adorable pet dinosaur who spends his days photosynthesising, so that at night the dinoflagellates contained in his transparent frame glow brilliantly with bioluminescence.
Dino Pet is currently at a prototype stage, but you can back his development on Kickstarter now and receive your very own Dino Pet in April 2014.
A bit like sea monkeys for the 21st century, each Dino Pet is full of living organisms that need a minimal amount of attention to thrive, and according to Yonder Biology, the company behind the product, "redefines the whole plant-pet paradigm". Dino Pets are 3D-printed from a polyethylene-based plastic and can hold up to 500ml of liquid, which is packed with thousands of dinoflagellates.
If you've ever seen the sea glowing at night as the waves lap against the shore, you'll have seen dinoflagellates in action before. They are a species of marine algae that photosynthesise during the day and respond to mechanical agitation by emitting a blue-green sparkling light, which occurs at night thanks to the circadian rhythm that act as a body clock for the organisms.
In order to care for your Dino Pet and ensure it continues to glow at night, you'll need to make sure it has access to indirect sunlight or leave it under a low wattage bulb for 10-12 hours every day. The dinoflagellates can continue to live like this for up to three months, but will eventually need to be supplemented with Dino Food to continue thriving. Yonder Biology reckons the dinoflagellates can live indefinitely if the Dino pet is regularly topped up with Dino Food, which is a mixture of sterile salt water and nutrients. Refills of the dinoflagellates can also be purchased.
Yonder Biology has a background in creating "living art", and makes unique DNA portraits and canvases. It claims to have "developed a robust method for growing dinoflagellates" and plans to biomanufacture them at its facility in California.
You'll need to pledge at least $40 (£20) to guarantee that you'll receive your own Dino Pet, although if you want it shipped internationally, you'll need to donate $125 (£80). The project has raised nearly half of its $50,000 (£32,000) target, which needs to be reached by 15 September.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
