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They’re expensive， ugly and sometimes dangerous： cracks in concrete. From bridges to houses， the renovation of buildings in the EU cost about six billion Euros a year.
But the era of expensive renovations could soon be over. The Dutch micro-biologist， Hendrik Jonkers， has invented a type of concrete that may 2）spell the end of those annoying cracks and 3）crevasses， thus saving billions of Euros.
Hendrik： （via translator） We think our concrete will revolutionize the way we build because we’ve been inspired by nature. Plants and animals have the ability to heal themselves， and now we’ve made it possible for concrete to do the same.
The problem with conventional 4）reinforced concrete is that stress gradually creates small cracks. Water penetrates the steel in the concrete， which starts to rust and become 5）brittle. This often happens after 20 to 30 years.
At the 6）University of Delft， Jonkers discovered the special ingredient for his“magic concrete” after a long search： natural bacteria. They usually occur near volcanoes and are heat and cold 7）resistant. Jonkers mixed them into the concrete so the building materials “come alive” in the truest sense of the word.
Hendrik： （via translator） The bacteria are found in nature. They usually live in stones. The special thing about them is that they form 8）spore， therefore they’re well-suited for our concrete， because they can survive for a long time.
The bacteria are in this powder. This is a mixture of the bacteria and their food， 9）calcium lactate. The powder is mixed with water and concrete components. The organic concrete is now ready to go. This miraculous power unfolds when it’s applied. When cracks start to occur， water finds its way in. The water then awakens the bacteria. They can lie 10）dormant for 200 years in the concrete， but when they come into contact with water， they become active and eat the food. Then they 11）secrete limestone， the main component of cement. This closes the cracks in the concrete.
It takes just three weeks for the diligent bacteria to seal the cracks， no matter how long the cracks are.
Hendrik： （via translator） There’s no limit to the length of the cracks， which can be centimeters or meters， even kilometers long， but the width is crucial. Here we see a crack with a width of 0.2 millimeters， but we can heal cracks up to 0.8 millimeters wide. This process can also work on existing buildings. Jonkers and his team are developing a special liquid that can be applied to cracks in buildings made of conventional concrete. This liquid also contains the special bacteria. It will be launched later this year. The organic concrete will follow in 2016.
This is the first building constructed using the magic concrete. The concrete layer is six centimeters thick， which is a third less than a conventional house. Jonkers inspects the cracks regularly to see that they’re healing. So far everything is working perfectly. The hidden helpers in the concrete could trigger a revolution and bring Hendrik Jonkers the 12）coveted 13）European Inventor Award.
它们代价高昂，外观难看，而且有时还会带来危险：它们就是混凝土中的裂缝。从桥梁到房屋，欧盟每年大约要花费六十亿欧元来进行建筑物维修。
但是，这个高价维修的时代或将成为过去。荷兰微生物学家亨德里克·扬克斯发明了一种新型混凝土，这可能意味着我们将告别那些恼人的裂缝，并因此省下几十亿欧元。
亨德里克：（通过翻译）我们从自然中得到了启发，相信我们的新型混凝土将带来建筑方式上的变革。动植物可以自愈，现在我们赋予了混凝土相同的能力。
传统钢筋混凝土存在一个问题：它在压力作用下会逐渐产生小裂纹。水分会渗透进去，接触到混凝土里的钢筋，使之生锈脆化。这种情形时常发生在有二、三十年历史的建筑物中。
在代尔夫特理工大学，扬克斯经过漫漫探寻，终于发现了制成“魔法混凝土”的特殊原料：天然细菌。这些天然细菌通常出现在火山附近，既耐热又抗冷。扬克斯将这些细菌与混凝土混合，建材就真的“活”起来了。
亨德里克：（通过翻译）这些细菌自然天成，通常存在于石头中。其特别之处在于它们可以形成孢子，能长期存活，因此非常适合我们的混凝土。
上述细菌就在这种粉末中。这是细菌及其食物乳酸钙的混合物。把这粉末和混凝土原料加水调和，有机混凝土就大功告成了。这种材料付诸实践后，它的神奇效力就会显现出来。裂缝一旦出现，水就会渗进去，唤醒天然细菌。这些细菌能在混凝土中休眠二百年，不过一接触到水分，它们就会被激活，开始进食，然后分泌石灰石——也就是水泥的主要成分，从而修复混凝土中的裂缝。
不管裂缝有多长，只需三周时间，这些勤快的细菌就能封闭那些裂口。
亨德里克：（通过翻译）这种混凝土对要修复的裂缝的长度没有限制，从几厘米到几米甚至几千米都可以，但是裂缝的宽度是关键。这是一道宽0.2毫米的裂缝，裂缝只要宽度在0.8毫米以下，都可以自行愈合。
这种方法对于现有建筑物同样有效。扬克斯与其团队正在研发一种特殊溶液，可用于修复传统混凝土建筑物的裂缝。这种溶液同样含有这种特殊细菌，将于今年晚些时候正式面世，有机混凝土也将紧随其后在2016年推出。
这是第一座使用了神奇混凝土的建筑物。混凝土层厚六厘米，仅为传统房屋混凝土层厚度的三分之一。扬克斯定期检查裂缝，观察它们的愈合情况。就目前来看，实验进展得很不错。这些隐匿在混凝土中的小帮手或许能掀起一场革新，并让亨德里克·扬克斯捧回梦寐以求的欧洲发明家大奖。
But the era of expensive renovations could soon be over. The Dutch micro-biologist， Hendrik Jonkers， has invented a type of concrete that may 2）spell the end of those annoying cracks and 3）crevasses， thus saving billions of Euros.
Hendrik： （via translator） We think our concrete will revolutionize the way we build because we’ve been inspired by nature. Plants and animals have the ability to heal themselves， and now we’ve made it possible for concrete to do the same.
The problem with conventional 4）reinforced concrete is that stress gradually creates small cracks. Water penetrates the steel in the concrete， which starts to rust and become 5）brittle. This often happens after 20 to 30 years.
At the 6）University of Delft， Jonkers discovered the special ingredient for his“magic concrete” after a long search： natural bacteria. They usually occur near volcanoes and are heat and cold 7）resistant. Jonkers mixed them into the concrete so the building materials “come alive” in the truest sense of the word.
Hendrik： （via translator） The bacteria are found in nature. They usually live in stones. The special thing about them is that they form 8）spore， therefore they’re well-suited for our concrete， because they can survive for a long time.
The bacteria are in this powder. This is a mixture of the bacteria and their food， 9）calcium lactate. The powder is mixed with water and concrete components. The organic concrete is now ready to go. This miraculous power unfolds when it’s applied. When cracks start to occur， water finds its way in. The water then awakens the bacteria. They can lie 10）dormant for 200 years in the concrete， but when they come into contact with water， they become active and eat the food. Then they 11）secrete limestone， the main component of cement. This closes the cracks in the concrete.
It takes just three weeks for the diligent bacteria to seal the cracks， no matter how long the cracks are.
Hendrik： （via translator） There’s no limit to the length of the cracks， which can be centimeters or meters， even kilometers long， but the width is crucial. Here we see a crack with a width of 0.2 millimeters， but we can heal cracks up to 0.8 millimeters wide. This process can also work on existing buildings. Jonkers and his team are developing a special liquid that can be applied to cracks in buildings made of conventional concrete. This liquid also contains the special bacteria. It will be launched later this year. The organic concrete will follow in 2016.
This is the first building constructed using the magic concrete. The concrete layer is six centimeters thick， which is a third less than a conventional house. Jonkers inspects the cracks regularly to see that they’re healing. So far everything is working perfectly. The hidden helpers in the concrete could trigger a revolution and bring Hendrik Jonkers the 12）coveted 13）European Inventor Award.
它们代价高昂，外观难看，而且有时还会带来危险：它们就是混凝土中的裂缝。从桥梁到房屋，欧盟每年大约要花费六十亿欧元来进行建筑物维修。
但是，这个高价维修的时代或将成为过去。荷兰微生物学家亨德里克·扬克斯发明了一种新型混凝土，这可能意味着我们将告别那些恼人的裂缝，并因此省下几十亿欧元。
亨德里克：（通过翻译）我们从自然中得到了启发，相信我们的新型混凝土将带来建筑方式上的变革。动植物可以自愈，现在我们赋予了混凝土相同的能力。
传统钢筋混凝土存在一个问题：它在压力作用下会逐渐产生小裂纹。水分会渗透进去，接触到混凝土里的钢筋，使之生锈脆化。这种情形时常发生在有二、三十年历史的建筑物中。
在代尔夫特理工大学，扬克斯经过漫漫探寻，终于发现了制成“魔法混凝土”的特殊原料：天然细菌。这些天然细菌通常出现在火山附近，既耐热又抗冷。扬克斯将这些细菌与混凝土混合，建材就真的“活”起来了。
亨德里克：（通过翻译）这些细菌自然天成，通常存在于石头中。其特别之处在于它们可以形成孢子，能长期存活，因此非常适合我们的混凝土。
上述细菌就在这种粉末中。这是细菌及其食物乳酸钙的混合物。把这粉末和混凝土原料加水调和，有机混凝土就大功告成了。这种材料付诸实践后，它的神奇效力就会显现出来。裂缝一旦出现，水就会渗进去，唤醒天然细菌。这些细菌能在混凝土中休眠二百年，不过一接触到水分，它们就会被激活，开始进食，然后分泌石灰石——也就是水泥的主要成分，从而修复混凝土中的裂缝。
不管裂缝有多长，只需三周时间，这些勤快的细菌就能封闭那些裂口。
亨德里克：（通过翻译）这种混凝土对要修复的裂缝的长度没有限制，从几厘米到几米甚至几千米都可以，但是裂缝的宽度是关键。这是一道宽0.2毫米的裂缝，裂缝只要宽度在0.8毫米以下，都可以自行愈合。
这种方法对于现有建筑物同样有效。扬克斯与其团队正在研发一种特殊溶液，可用于修复传统混凝土建筑物的裂缝。这种溶液同样含有这种特殊细菌，将于今年晚些时候正式面世，有机混凝土也将紧随其后在2016年推出。
这是第一座使用了神奇混凝土的建筑物。混凝土层厚六厘米，仅为传统房屋混凝土层厚度的三分之一。扬克斯定期检查裂缝，观察它们的愈合情况。就目前来看，实验进展得很不错。这些隐匿在混凝土中的小帮手或许能掀起一场革新，并让亨德里克·扬克斯捧回梦寐以求的欧洲发明家大奖。