Materials Science
How nature is transforming materials science — 25 biomimicry examples with real-world products and research. Nacre, …
Animal
Cortical bone achieves a remarkable combination of stiffness and toughness through a hierarchical — the biology behind …
Animal
When threatened, releases a small volume of mucus that expands 10,000-fold in a fraction of a second — the biology …
Animal
Honeybees build honeycomb from beeswax using hexagonal cells packed together — the biology behind honeycomb structural …
Animal
The Morpho butterfly's brilliant iridescent blue color contains no blue pigment — the biology behind structural color …
Animal
Corneal nanostructures on moth eyes form a gradient refractive index that eliminates surface — the biology behind …
Animal
The shell is divided into gas-filled chambers connected by a siphuncle tube — the biology behind deep-sea pressure …
Animal
Active at midday when surface temperatures reach 70°C — the biology behind passive radiative cooling materials.
Animal
Abalone shell (nacre) is made from the same calcium carbonate as blackboard chalk — the biology behind ultra-tough …
Animal
Osedax worms have no mouth, gut, or digestive organs — the biology behind chemosynthetic bioprocessing.
Animal
Brittlestars have no eyes, yet they can change color and seek shade in response to light changes — the biology behind …
Animal
When flooded, thousands of fire ants link legs and bodies into a self-assembling, waterproof raft — the biology behind …
Animal
This deep-sea sponge builds a cylindrical cage of glass (silica spicules) that withstands — the biology behind …
Animal
Spider silk is five times stronger than steel by weight, yet more elastic than nylon — the biology behind synthetic …
Plant
The giant Amazonian lily pad can support the weight of a small child (up to 40 kg) on its surface — the biology behind …
Animal
The bony tail is built from square cross-section rings that slide and rotate against each other — the biology behind …
Animal
The mantis shrimp punches at 23 m/s and over 10,000 g, thousands of times, without cracking its club. Its helicoidal …
Protist
Single-celled algae build intricate silica shells (frustules) with species-specific nanoscale pore patterns — the …
Animal
In one of the world's driest habitats, this beetle collects drinking water from early-morning coastal — the biology …
Animal
Hollow, transparent fur fibers scatter and channel ultraviolet light down to the black skin beneath — the biology behind …
Plant
The lotus leaf surface is covered with microscopic waxy bumps (papillae) that repel water so effectively — the biology …
Animal
Secretes a two-part underwater adhesive from separate glands — the biology behind underwater surgical adhesives.
Animal
The flamingo tongue snail moves across sea fans (gorgonian coral) by secreting a mucus trail — the biology behind …
Animal
The thorny devil drinks through its feet — capillary channels between its scales pull water to its mouth. The same trick …
Animal
Millions of microscopic hair-like structures called setae on the gecko's toe pads create van der Waals forces — the …
Animal
Rapidly shifts skin color through active tuning of iridophore crystal lattice spacing — the biology behind …