Biomimicry News & Research

Researchers design sensitive new microphone modeled on fly ear (6/3/2013)

Using the sensitive ears of a parasitic fly for inspiration, a group of researchers has created a new type of microphone that achieves better acoustical performance than what is currently available in hearing aids. The scientists will present their results at the 21st International Congress on Acoustics, held June 2-7 in Montreal. ...> Full Article

Moth-inspired nanostructures take the color out of thin films (5/18/2013)

Inspired by the structure of moth eyes, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed nanostructures that limit reflection at the interfaces where two thin films meet, suppressing the "thin-film interference" phenomenon commonly observed in nature. This can potentially improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells and other optoelectronic devices. ...> Full Article

Bats use blood to reshape tongue for feeding (5/10/2013)

Brown University scientists have found that a species of bat uses blood flow to reshape its tongue while feeding. The quick dynamic action makes the tongue an effective "mop" for nectar and could even inspire new industrial designs. Findings are reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ...> Full Article

Robotic insects make first controlled flight (5/5/2013)

In the very early hours of the morning, in a Harvard robotics laboratory last summer, an insect took flight. Half the size of a paperclip, weighing less than a tenth of a gram, it leaped a few inches, hovered for a moment on fragile, flapping wings, and then sped along a preset route through the air. This demonstration of the first controlled flight of an insect-sized robot is the culmination of more than a decade's work, led by researchers at Harvard. ...> Full Article

Seahorse's armor gives engineers insight into robotics designs (5/3/2013)

The tail of a seahorse can be compressed to about half its size before permanent damage occurs, engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have found. The tail's flexibility is due to its structure, made up of bony, armored plates, which slide past each other. Researchers are hoping to use a similar structure to create a flexible robotic arm, which could be used in medical devices, underwater exploration and unmanned bomb detection and detonation. ...> Full Article

Insect-inspired camera captures wide field of view with no distortion, according to CU-Boulder study (5/2/2013)

To create the innovative camera, which also allows for a practically infinite depth of field, the scientists used stretchable electronics and a pliable sheet of microlenses made from a material similar to that used for contact lenses. ...> Full Article

Bed of needles (4/18/2013)

A parasitic worm may hold the answer to keeping skin grafts firmly in place over wounds. ...> Full Article

Not slippery when wet: Geckos adhere to surfaces submerged underwater (4/13/2013)

Geckos are known for their sticky adhesive toes that allow them to stick to, climb on, and run along surfaces in any orientation -- even upside down! But until recently, it was not well understood how geckos kept their sticking ability even on wet surfaces, as are common in the tropical regions in which most geckos live. ...> Full Article

Bean leaves can trap bedbugs, researchers find (4/12/2013)

Inspired by a traditional Balkan bedbug remedy, researchers have documented how microscopic hairs on kidney bean leaves effectively stab and trap the biting insects, according to findings published online today in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. Scientists at UC Irvine and the University of Kentucky are now developing materials that mimic the geometry of the leaves. ...> Full Article

Cry me a river of possibility: Scientists design new adaptive material inspired by tears (4/11/2013)

Imagine highly precise, self-adjusting contact lenses that also clean themselves. A team of researchers at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences just moved these enticing notions much closer to reality by designing a new kind of adaptive material with tunable transparency and wettability features, as reported yesterday in the online version of Nature Materials. ...> Full Article

'Artificial leaf' gains the ability to self-heal damage and produce energy from dirty water (4/10/2013)

Another innovative feature has been added to the world's first practical "artificial leaf," making the device even more suitable for providing people in developing countries and remote areas with electricity, scientists reported here today. It gives the leaf the ability to self-heal damage, they said during the "Kavli Foundation Innovations in Chemistry Lecture" at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. ...> Full Article

Scientists build material that mimics squid beak (4/5/2013)

Researchers led by scientists at Case Western Reserve University have turned to an unlikely model to make medical devices safer and more comfortable -- a squid's beak. Many medical implants require hard materials that have to connect to or pass through soft body tissue. This mechanical mismatch leads to problems. But the beak, which boasts a mechanical gradient that can act as a shock absorber, may provide a solution. ...> Full Article

Robot ants successfully mimic real colony behavior (4/2/2013)

Scientists have successfully replicated the behavior of a colony of ants on the move with the use of miniature robots, as reported in the journal PLOS Computational Biology. ...> Full Article

Researchers unveil large robotic jellyfish that one day could patrol oceans (4/1/2013)

Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers have unveiled Cyro, a life-like, autonomous robotic jellyfish the size and weight of a grown man, five foot seven inches in length and weighing 170 pounds. ...> Full Article

Inspired by deep sea sponges: Creating flexible minerals (3/22/2013)

Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Germany have created a new synthetic hybrid material with a mineral content of almost 90 percent, yet extremely flexible. ...> Full Article