Robotics
How nature is transforming robotics — 26 biomimicry examples with real-world products and research. Locomotion, …
Animal
When a honeybee colony scouts for a new nest site, hundreds of scouts investigate different options — the biology behind …
Animal
Cuttlefish change skin color and pattern within milliseconds using three layers of specialized cells — the biology …
Animal
Dragonflies have four independently controlled wings, each with a corrugated cross-section — the biology behind micro …
Animal
Homing pigeons can find their way home from 1,800 km away using a combination of magnetic — the biology behind cognitive …
Animal
Monarch butterflies navigate up to 4,000 km using a time-compensated sun compass in their antennae — the biology behind …
Plant
Pinecone scales open when dry to release seeds and close when wet to protect them — the biology behind …
Animal
The platypus hunts underwater with its eyes closed — the biology behind electroreception sensors.
Animal
The trunk contains ~150,000 muscle fascicles and no rigid skeleton — achieving six degrees of freedom — the biology …
Animal
Thousands of dome-shaped sensory organs (integumentary sense organs) embedded in the scutes — the biology behind …
Animal
Changes skin color, texture, and pattern in milliseconds using chromatophores, papillae — the biology behind adaptive …
Animal
Desert ants forage solo, ranging up to 500 meters from the nest with no landmarks in featureless terrain — the biology …
Animal
Locusts can fly in dense swarms of millions without colliding — the biology behind collision-avoidance sensors.
Animal
On dark, cloudy nights when stars are invisible — the biology behind polarized-light navigation.
Animal
The electric eel generates up to 860 volts using thousands of electrocytes — the biology behind soft biobatteries.
Animal
Huddles of thousands of penguins rotate continuously — the biology behind collective thermal management systems.
Animal
When flooded, thousands of fire ants link legs and bodies into a self-assembling, waterproof raft — the biology behind …
Animal
Bat wings are built from a thin, highly elastic membrane stretched over elongated finger bones — the biology behind …
Animal
The bony tail is built from square cross-section rings that slide and rotate against each other — the biology behind …
Plant
The asymmetric single-winged seed (samara) autorotates as it falls — the biology behind single-wing micro air vehicles.
Animal
This frog can cling to smooth, wet leaves using toe pads that work via a wet adhesion mechanism — the biology behind …
Animal
Hovers in place with precision by beating asymmetric figure-eight wingstrokes at 50-80 Hz — the biology behind hovering …
Animal
Sea cucumbers can rapidly change their body stiffness from rigid (when threatened) to soft and fluid — the biology …
Animal
The flamingo tongue snail moves across sea fans (gorgonian coral) by secreting a mucus trail — the biology behind …
Animal
Flocks of up to a million starlings produce fluid, shapeshifting aerial formations with no leader — the biology behind …
Animal
Millions of microscopic hair-like structures called setae on the gecko's toe pads create van der Waals forces — the …
Plant
The Venus flytrap snaps shut in 100 milliseconds — one of the fastest movements in the plant kingdom — the biology …