Discover from Nature
Do you remember your mom taking you to a doctor's office? The doctor decided to give you some medicine. She rolled up your sleeves, and gave you a shot in the upper arm. Ouch! That hurt, didn't it? What if a shot given in the arm didn't hurt? Well, maybe in the future, it won't. Some scientists have been studying how the lowly mosquito is able to bite us without us knowing. When they figure out the secrets, the doctor's shot might become a painless procedure. This is what "biomimetics" is about.
People who study biomimetics look to solve human problems by copying how nature does it. It might sound complicated, but it is much easier once you understand. Let's look at some examples of biomimetics we see today or will see in the near future.
Natural Air Conditioning
Termites are simple creatures, but when they work together, they can build incredible natural structures. Some termite mounds can reach 7 meters in height. They even go 3 meters underground. There is another amazing fact about termite mounds: even though the temperature outside can vary from 40 degrees Celsius during the day to 1 degree Celsius at night, it is always about 30 degrees Celsius inside. Termite mounds are built in a way that hot air rises out and cool air comes in through the bottom. Inspired by termite mounds, Mick Pearce, an African architect, constructed a building in Zimbabwe and another in Australia using the same passive cooling techniques. These buildings were 10% cheaper to build because less money was spent on air moving equipment, and this design reduced cooling energy costs by 35%. Now that's a cool idea!
Airplane Winglets
If you look at an airplane's wings, you can sometimes see that the tips are turned upwards. These are called "winglets" and they may look neat, but they have measurable benefits. When engineers studied birds, they observed that birds' wings have tips that turn up in flight. They found that the tips smooth the flow of air, which helps them conserve energy when flying. The engineers thought that if it worked for birds, why not for airplanes? The end result is that the airplane winglets help keep planes smaller, saving about 10% in fuel costs. This is beneficial not just for the environment but for passengers' wallets, too.
Sea Urchins
Sea urchins may be eaten in some parts of the world, but they can also damage parts of the sea environment with their bony mouths. A sea urchin mouth looks a lot like a five-fingered claw you might see while trying to pick up prizes at the arcade. This design is surprisingly efficient at grabbing and grinding. The efficiency of this natural design is now being tested for incorporation into missions in space. When small robots are sent to another planet to collect soil samples, the standard method is to use something inefficient like a small shovel. By copying the design of a sea urchin mouth, scientists believe it will be easier to collect samples. Amazingly, a design developed naturally in the deep sea may soon be seen in deep space.
When we observe nature, we can be amazed by its beauty and its grand scale. We should remember that nature has had millions of years to experiment. Now, as we observe nature on all levels big and small, we have the technology and the means to copy what nature has perfected. Because there is still so much we do not know about nature, there is still much left to discover. Maybe one day you will be inspired by nature to invent a product that will change the world.
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Can Mold Draw a Map?
Cars, trains, and planes make travel very easy. Unfortunately, when many people travel, pollution and wasted time have measurable side effects. What if a traffic network were more efficient? A seemingly unintelligent slime mold may hold some answers and more.
Slime molds are not quite an animal or a plant. They feed on dead plant material, so they can be found on grass, on trees, and even in air conditioners! Slime molds find food by sending out "arms" that reach out like a web. When an arm finds food, it grows to transport the food, and other arms that do not find food become smaller, saving energy. If this process goes on, inefficient paths are eliminated and efficient paths are made stronger. By nature, slime molds are able to find the best way to join two or more areas together.
In an experiment, scientists put a slime mold where Tokyo would be on a map of Japan. They put food where major cities were located on the map. After a few days, the slime mold created a design similar to the actual rail system around Tokyo. If it works for rail networks, could it work for other networks, too?
Researchers are now looking into whether slime molds can help create better communication networks. During natural disasters, people try to contact friends and family, so cell phone use increases a lot. A smarter and more efficient network may keep service up, so loved ones can stay in touch. One day, the simple slime mold may become a designer for other networks of the future.