Biomimicry

Would you wear a jacket made out of mucus?   A sea creature could provide inspiration to scientists to invent new materials better than what we have today.   This is called biomimicry.  Biomimicry is taking inspiration from nature and taking what we learned and putting them in our own inventions.  This essay will describe how scientists took inspiration from Hagfish,  an elephant trunk, and the pitcher plant to make new inventions and materials. 

Hagfish may someday revolutionize how we make materials stronger and more durable than what can be made today.  Hagfish are jawless fish that are shaped like an eel.  They have a unique defense mechanism where their body generates slime when they are attacked by a predator.  The predator gets a mouthful of slime causing it to suffocate.  Scientists observed there were tiny strains of thread holding the slime together.  These strains of thread are ten times stronger than nylon.  Scientists can use these threads to make a stronger fabric.

An elephant’s trunk can help improve the robotic arm.  The trunk is part of the elephant’s nose that has no bones and has about 40,000 muscles.The trunk is long, flexible, and generates a lot of force.  Scientists studied these characteristics and discovered they could be used to build a better robotic arm.  These arms can be made more flexible, less ridgid, lighter, and safer.

The pitcher plant has inspired engineers to design a new non-stick treatment that can be added to different materials.  The pitcher plant  is carnivorous, meaning it eats insects.  When the flowers of the plant get wet, the surface becomes very slippery and insects slide into the mouth of the plant.  Scientists observed this slippery surface of the pitcher plant and invented a treatment that can be added to materials that will resist stains and repel liquids.

Biomimicry can help scientists use nature to inspire new inventions.  Slime from the hagfish help create a stronger kind of fabric.  The flexibility and the strength of the elephant trunk gave scientists ideas to develop a better robotic arm.  Scientists got inspiration from the pitcher plant to make a treatment that can resist stains and repel liquids.