Category: Biomimicry

Dolphins show truly impressive math skills

“”These dolphins were either ‘blinding’ their most spectacular sensory apparatus when hunting – which would be odd, though they still have sight to reply on – or they have a sonar that can do what human sonar cannot” more

Biomimetics, with coffee: R&D 100 Award goes to the plant that tried to eat Darwinist Nick Matzke

But the pitcher plant didn’t get the award for that. more

Shrimp’s clublike arm is “holy grail for materials engineers”

“They found that the club is a highly complex structure, composed of three specialized regions that work together to create a structure tougher than many engineered ceramics.

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Biomimetics reveals the design in nature, says engineer

“The researchers looked for help in their intelligent design from nature–so could it be that nature itself was intelligently designed?” more

Material, engineered to mimic water strider’s feet weighs one lb., can carry 5 kitchen fridges

“Aerogels are so light that some of them are denoted as ‘solid smoke.’ ” more

Biomechanics: Be glad that we have a lot to learn from the design of life

“Human engineers can only dream of creating such devices. ” more

What sandblasted scorpions can teach aircraft engineers

If nature is unintelligently designed, how come it has so much to teach us? more

Researchers discussing spider’s web can’t stop using the forbidden word – design

The word “design” is used four times in the article. more

#2 of 2011 for ID community: The Design of the Butterfly Continues to Inspire and Amaze.

“Meanwhile, another group of researchers say they have shown for the first time that swallowtail butterflies have an array of sensors on their forelegs that allow them to get a flavor of the leaves they land on. ” more

#3 of 2011 for ID community: Woodpecker Drumming Inspires Shock-Absorbing System.

“Advanced design in nature that appears to elude both the inventive mind of man and the limited capabilities of natural selection… ” more

Further to carnivorous plants: Their “flypaper” may prove useful technology

Note how this is merely a “bag of tricks.” Would the same people write about the space shuttle that way? more

Biomimetics: Teaching robots to think like swarms of bacteria

Swarms of bacteria do better rather than worse than animals in finding the right direction. more

Biomimicry: Nature had 3.8 billion years “to come up with ideas”

But if anyone suggests that there is an intelligence behind nature, suddenly the mood changes to baseless claims and stupid remarks. more

New paper sets out the precise “Swiss clock” mechanism of embryo development

“This system is the first “mechanical” clock ever discovered in genetics. And it explains why the system is so remarkably precise.” more

Is Reader’s Digest semantically conceding the field to intelligent design?

The April 2011 edition of Reader’s Digest features an article by Shaun Pett called “Intelligent Design” (p. 82). We are told, “A new field of research uses nature to solve everyday human problems.”: The term “biomimicry,” popularized by American natural-sciences writer Janine Benyus in the late 1990s, refers to innovations that take their inspiration from… more