It's no surprise that many bugs have excellent hearing thanks to finely honed antenna. Checking out the giant antenna on the tiny bug above, it seems no surprise that they can hear surprisingly well. 
The leaves of carnivorous plants could hold the key to repelling ice from pipes and keeping them cleared. 
"A technology that mimics the structure of a lobster's eyes is now being applied to a new instrument that could help revolutionize X-ray astronomy and keep astronauts safe on the International Space Station." 
"When last we heard from GE and its Morpho-butterfly inspired sensors, all the talk was about detecting chemicals. [...] In the latest issue of Nature Photonics, however, the company's researchers show that the wing-like structures are just as good at detecting heat as they are ricin attacks." 
A new kind of laser captures light just like some colorful bird feathers. The device mimics the nanoscale structure of colorful feathers to make high-intensity laser light with almost any color. 
"The gentle swaying of kelp forests belies the immense hydraulic pressures they've evolved to endure. The waves that crash over them transfer huge amounts of energy—an average of 36kW/m with three-foot swells. Now, a green energy firm (BioPower) is banking on this sway to run arrays of Megawatt generators of the coast of Victoria."
Photo details: The wake after the ferry to Fanø, Denmark. Malene Thyssen, 2004, Gnu Free Document License. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boelge_stor.jpg 
The concept of biomimicry is the architectural process whereby a building or structure takes its form from the imitation of organic systems and processes. "TED Talks Biologist Robert Full shares slo-mo video of some captivating critters. Take a closer look at the spiny legs that allow cockroaches to scuttle across mesh and the nanobristle-packed feet that let geckos to run straight up walls." (watch Video on TED.com). 
"Combining the secrets that enable water striders to walk on water and give wood its lightness and strength yielded an amazing material so buoyant that, in everyday terms, a boat made from 1 pound of it could carry about 1,000 pounds." 
"Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids have looked to nature to develop a relatively simple and inexpensive method of producing calcium carbonate lenses packed together in a regular arrangement. The researchers took inspiration from the brittle star (Ophiocoma wendtii), which is studded with tiny crystalline lenses made of calcium carbonate, that together form a type of compound eye." 
"The idea of designing a drone after the maple seed has been around for awhile. But finally, researchers have made it happen." 
"A team of biophysicists at Rockefeller University recently published a paper in Physical Review Letters about a new way to design distribution networks based on the veins that carry water and nutrients in most leaves." 
"By observing the inner workings of an octopus's leg or an elephant's trunk, scientists have created muscles from carbon nanotubes that could one day power machines." |
The unusually shaped hairs on the leaves of this floating weed is the foundation for a high-tech waterproof material. 
"The Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture (MMAA) in Qatar is getting a brand new office building that takes the form of a towering cactus. [...] The designers from Bangkok-based Aesthetics Architects GO Group decided to model the MMAA’s new office upon the cactus, taking inspiration from the way these plants deal with the scorching desert climate. The modern office and adjacent botanical dome are going to biomimic the cacti and the way that they successfully survive in hot, dry environments." 
"Concentrated solar power plants could get an efficiency boost inspired by flowers, according to MIT researchers. Designing solar mirrors in a spiral pattern similar to sunflower heads could reduce the space required for CSP plants and increase the amount of sunlight the mirrors collect." 
"The current industry model is broken. Our economy is built on a ‘take make waste’ model that negatively impacts environmental and human systems and is not tenable in the long term. It is time to reinvent. We are gifted with an array of genius examples in nature – mechanism and ecosystems that have evolved over 3.8 billion years and provide a blueprint for products, processes, and system organization that can be truly effective toward a healthier, resilient future. We propose that companies mimic nature and reinvent themselves around the fundamental science of Biomimicry’s seven Life’s Principles. This is Management Innovation According to Nature’s Genius." 
Inspired by nature, a group of researchers from MIT developed a glass that is self-cleaning, virtually eliminates reflections, and resists fogging and glare... 
According to MIT Media Lab director, Joichi Ito, "One hundred years from now, the role of science and technology will be about becoming part of nature rather than trying to control it."... 
"For algae to power our cars and planes, production needs to be low carbon and cost effective, which means working with natural processes, not against them, say scientists." 
"Talented and dedicated engineers spent countless hours designing Japan’s rail system to be one of the world’s most efficient. Could have just asked a slime mold. When presented with oat flakes arranged in the pattern of Japanese cities around Tokyo, brainless, single-celled slime molds construct networks of nutrient-channeling tubes that are strikingly similar to the layout of the Japanese rail system." 
"After a disaster, this robotic spider can shuffle into tight spaces for assessing damage or for search & rescue." 
"Here is an interesting idea for a helmet, designed for motorcyclists but that might work for cyclists and skateboarders down the road." "How can architects build a new world of sustainable beauty? By learning from nature."(watch Michael Pawlyn at TEDSalon in London http://www.ted.com) |
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