Biomimicry - from ecomii

Biomimicry is a new science dedicated to studying the elegant designs of nature to gain insight into how to solve human problems. For example, studying how a leaf converts sunlight into energy can teach us how to invent a better solar panel. Think of biomimicry as innovation inspired by nature.

The core idea behind biomimicry is that nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved the most challenging design problems. Animals, plants, and microrganisms are skillful engineers. The systems of nature exist as a 3.8-billion-year-old research-and-development (R&D) department.

Our current way of life — consuming all the natural resources and polluting the remaining food sources — doesn’t work. Biomimicry offers an opportunity to learn from the sustainable and time-tested systems of nature.

Look at these examples from nature, and the man-made inventions they inspired:

Abalone mussel nacre (mother-of-pearl coating): This abalone coating inspired hard coatings for windshields and bodies of solar cars, airplanes, and anything that needs to be lightweight but fracture resistant.

Antlers, teeth, bones, and shells: You can now buy a three-dimensional printer, which builds 3D objects layer by layer, as inspired by natural biomineralization.

Barbs on weed seeds: Barbs on weed seeds inspired Velcro, perhaps the most well-known biomimetic invention.

Blue mussel adhesive: Blue mussel adhesive inspired a man-made underwater adhesive. Unlike traditional glues, this new type of adhesive sets underwater and doesn’t need a primer, an initiator, or a catalyst to work. This idea could revolutionize paints and coatings, and enable surgeons to operate without sutures.

Blue mussel byssus sealant: The natural sealant (called byssus) that a blue mussel creates inspired an alternative to plastics. This time-release coating for disposable cups, utensils, and plates lasts for a few months and then biodegrades, allowing the material underneath to be composted.

Dolphin and shark skin: Dolphin and shark skin inspired Olympic swimsuits. The hydrodynamic texture of shark skin was the inspiration for these swimsuits, allowing less friction from the water and faster swim times.

Fish antifreeze: The natural antifreeze in fishes’ bodies inspired a type of man-made antifreeze used to freeze human transplant organs without injury.

Spider web: Spider webs have inspired ultrastrong man-made wires. Fiber is manufactured without using intense heat, pressure, or toxic chemicals, and it’s stronger and more resilient that anything we’ve used in the past. It has inspired innovative parachute cables, suspension bridges, surgical sutures, and more.

Bat navigation: The sophisticated sonar of a bat was a model of modern sonar technology.

Bird wings: Vulture wings inspired the invention of the airplane. The Wright brothers were avid birdwatchers, and they modeled the wings of their plane on the shape of bird wings.

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