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Remember that episode of Battlestar Galactica where the crew is spreading that Cylon ooze all over the ship’s hull to keep it from breaking apart?

Well, a group of researchers at Northumbria University in England are working on a similar goo that could help ailing concrete buildings 鈥渟elf heal.鈥�

A guy named Alan Richardson, a senior lecturer in construction in the , is using bacteria as a type of salve that can be applied to concrete cracks. The researchers grow the bacteria in a chemical cocktail of yeast, minerals and urea. When it is applied, it feeds off of the concrete, spreads, fills and seals the cracks to prevent further deterioration.

The hope is that the research could lead to a cost-effective cure for concrete cancer.

Concrete cancer is a deteriorating building 鈥渄isease鈥� that is caused by the rebar inside concrete. As the rebar rusts, it expands and allows water to seep in, which in turn displaces the concrete and causes it to crack and weaken.

Concrete cancer causes billions of dollars in damage every year, so a self-healing building would probably be pretty well received in development circles. Perhaps the state could even use it on the of schools, community colleges, health care facilities, fire stations and other government buildings that are at risk of collapsing in the next big quake.

So say we all!