The framing gets sealed and protected from moisture. It is not exposed to the outside. Exterior exposed wood is either pressure treated to resist rot, is a species that is naturally rot resistant, or it is painted.

Remember, the article is talking about altering wood to be both transparent and biodegradable. That sounds like a window to me. That is a role that is currently filled with either glass or plastic. You would not choose a biodegradable material for exterior use and most windows are used on the outside of a structure.

[–] PolydoreSmith@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Exactly. Even pressure-treated wood gets pockmarked relatively quickly with nicks and scratches. It’s not visible on wood since it’s already so textured, but a transparent surface would be rendered opaque.

That aside, the whole article reads like AI slop. This paragraph is particularly obvious:

Instead of refilling the pores with epoxy, the team soaked the cellulose layer in a mixture of egg whites and rice extract. A curing agent called diethylenetriamine was also added to keep the atrial see-through. Importantly, the team says that the amounts of the various chemicals and reagents used in the process were small enough to present a danger to the environment. According to the team’s statement, they were “left with semi-transparent slices of wood that were durable and flexible.”

It’s just a collection of four sentences without any real unifying idea. And the latter two sentences are complete nonsense if you really read them.