Biomimicry

"In the Namib Desert of Africa, the fog-filled morning wind carries the drinking water for a beetle called the Stenocara. iny droplets collect on the beetle's bumpy back. The areas between the bumps are covered in a waxy substance that makes them water-repellant, or hydrophobic (water-fearing). Water accumulates on the water-loving, or hydrophilic, bumps, forming droplets that eventually grow too big to stay put, then roll down the waxy surface. [...]  More than a decade ago, news of this creature's efficient water collection system inspired engineers to try and reproduce these surfaces in the lab. Small-scale advances in fluid physics, materials engineering and nanoscience since that time have brought them close to succeeding."

Arrays of tiny copper spikes can clean oil from water, mimicking the way cacti pull water out of desert air.

"Scientists have identified nanostructures in the ultra-black skin markings of an African viper which they said [...] could inspire the quest to create the ultimate light-absorbing material."

Engineers trying to mimic the peacocks’ color mechanism for screens have locked in structural color, which is made with texture rather than chemicals.

The University of Akron's research into what makes geckos' feet stick to almost anything -- part of an emerging field called bio-inspiration -- could have big payoffs in industrial adhesives, electronics, robotics and other fields.

In a series of demonstrations (published in Nature Materials), scientists at Seoul National University’s Multiscale Biomimetic Systems Laboratory showed off a pressure-sensing membrane that is sensitive enough to feel the fall of water droplets, a human pulse in the wrist, and even the whisper-light tread of a lady-bug walking across the “electronic skin.” True to its “biomimetic” creed, the group took its cue from the signal transduction systems found in the ear, intestines, and kidney—nanoscopic hairs that interlock and produce signals by rubbing one another when their base membranes dent, ripple, or twist. They also added a self-assembly feature inspired by the locking mechanism on a beetle’s wing.

"Moth eyeballs are made up of tiny cones that reduce glare. UC Irvine researchers copied the pattern on a new, flexible material and coated it with a bit of gold to make a product that could improve solar panels, LED displays and disguising of weapons."

"One of the top ten highlights of the past year, in terms of technology that is inspired by nature. That was how the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics described a paper by researchers from the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology. The publication describes new technology involving the use of sensors to measure flow patterns. Source of inspiration: the hairs on cricket abdomens."

"Forget chemicals or pills in the fight against nasty bacterial infections. Entrepreneur Mark Spiecker is betting that the secrte lies with sharks. Those fast and carnivorous fish just happen to have microscopic textures on their skin that make them highly resistant to barnacles, algae and, surprisingly, most human bacteria."

A recent study conducted by researchers at Ohio State University has found that rice leaves and butterfly wings make use of some unique surface characteristics that promote self-cleaning. The researchers believe that incorporating some of these features into man-made products might be key to tackling problems associated with biofouling.

Morphotex is the world’s first optical coloring fiber, inspired by the chromogenic principle of Morpho butterflies that inhabit areas along the Amazon in South Africa. Called “living jewels,” the cobalt-blue wings of Morpho butterflies impart vivid color although they have no pigmentation.