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[-] fizzle@quokk.au 57 points 1 month ago

Sensational title.

On straw checkerboards laid across northwest China, a dark film spread over treated sand and stayed after seasonal dust storms. [...] In trials near the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang in northwest China, CAS teams saw crusts stabilize sand within 10 to 16 months.

So they treated the sand with a microbial sludge and it did not blow away.

Later in the article ...

Even in the best cases, that still meant waiting two to three years for a mature crust that resists disturbance.

It's great that people are researching techniques to increase arable land, but this article is pretty trashy.

[-] HubertManne@piefed.social 3 points 1 month ago

Honestly I almost ignored the 10 months when reading the headline as my brain sorta ignored it. That is a goofily small amount of time for something like this.

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago

We all saw The Martian. The secret is poop.

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 1 points 1 month ago

Biosludge pls, we're being professional

[-] Tronn4@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

The secret is Uyghurs labor

[-] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 3 points 1 month ago

Of course it is, wouldn't be a very good jobs program if it used Hong Kong labor.

[-] Tronn4@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

It has that je ne sais quois

[-] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 2 points 1 month ago

I think you mean Soylent Uyghur.

[-] DirtSona@feddit.org 1 points 1 month ago

Is it some kind of sick racist shit from you, that you say Uyghurs are a type of lab-grown microbes?

[-] Railcar8095@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Honestly, feeding the microbes with Uyghur hummus seems much more straightforward.

[-] Ildar@lemmy.world -4 points 1 month ago

Да и хуй с ним, полезное дело делают

[-] aeration1217@lemmy.org -1 points 1 month ago

Ты что, ешь задницу Путина этим ртом? Позор тебе

[-] Toneswirly@beehaw.org 1 points 1 month ago

Cool tech, but it still doesnt solve the much more pressing issue of procuring clean water and somehow transporting it to the freakin desert.

[-] Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz 1 points 1 month ago

Just wait for the snow to melt.

this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2026
69 points (85.6% liked)

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