Know How Living Organisms Inspired Important Inventions

Over the years, we have achieved incredible advancements in the areas of science and technology. Medical scientists have been successful in understanding our body mechanism and beating life-threatening diseases, astronomers have explored a lot about our earth and the universe, and technocrats have developed a large number of devices that have made our life simpler. But what if we say you at some points we are far behind the other inhabitants of this world, i.e., Plants and animals.

Here our assignment help professionals have given five such examples where scientists took help from the nature to come up with their inventions.

Take a look at these points:

1. Sharkskin And Air Travel

Sharks have been a topic of research for scientists since ancient times. This is not just because of the fact that they are the most efficient marine predators but also because of their swimming speed, i.e., 40 Km/hr. It has been found that the water-optimized skin is the main reason behind this special prowess. The surface of shark skin is made from tiny teeth called dermal, and their dermal denticles have groves that channel water, therefore helping the shark to swim fast. The design of shark skin has been a source of inspiration for many. A group of scientists from the Fraunhofer Society, a German research organization has developed a paint after studying the sharkskin. They claim that if that paint is applied to the body of an airplane and its wings be designed similar to that of shark, its fuel consumption can be significantly reduced.

2. Geckos And Power Adhesive

The gecko's special ability to climb wall has puzzled the scientific community for millennia. The mystery was finally solved in 2002 when researchers discovered that the millions of tiny hairs on the gecko’s feet help to produce weak, short-range electrostatic force which assists it in adhering to the surface of a wall. Since then, there have been many application of this extraordinary science of nature, geckskin being the most famous one. The sticky material has similar components to that of gecko’s feet hair, and it can hold up to 317 kilograms (700 lb) on a smooth wall.

3. Bats And SmartCanes

Bats are nocturnal animals that have a special prowess to distinguish objects in the dark using echolocation. This is a unique ability by which they can detect the objects around them by getting the high-pitched sonar frequencies that bounce off objects while flying. A team of researchers based in India took cue from bats to revolutionize the standard white cane used by blind people. Named as Smartcane, these sticks emit a similar signal like bats, thus helping the visually impaired people to detect the potentially dangerous objects around them.

4. Beetles And Water Harvesting

Water is such a precious resource on the earth that it’s hard to believe anybody could produce it on its own. But you would be surprised to know that the Stenocara gracilipes beetles show a special physiological mechanism that pulls water from the surrounding air. These insects live in the hottest region of the earth, i.e., the Namib Desert in Southwestern Africa where there is no source of fresh water. But the cutaneous layer of skin along the beetle’s back has special glass-like bumps that absorb water from the atmosphere and these water drops then run down to its mount through the small channels. Inspired by this insect’s body construction scientists at the British Ministry of Defense designed ceiling tiles that can convert atmospheric air into water.

5. Sea Sponges And Solar Panels

You might be knowing about marine sponges. Their colour and unique body construction have always been a matter of discussion. But do you know that they have inspired scientists to come up with low-cost solar panels? These humble marine creatures have the special ability to harvest silicon from seawater and use it to build the spiky filaments on their body. They do this by using an enzyme silicatein that helps in catalyzing the conversion of silica acid in seawater into its silica spikes. Taking the same technique into consideration, scientists have structured layers of zinc oxide with aqueous zinc nitrate and the silicatein with ammonia, i.e., the primary components of a solar cell.

These were some of the organisms that became the source of invention for the scientific community around the world. While we have attained a remarkable height in terms of technological advancements, nature is still far ahead us in many ways. Looking around, you too can find out many such organisms that are unique in their own way, and might become the foundation for important inventions. So, just keep your eyes wide open. However, if loads of pending academic projects are not letting you do this, then seek assignment help from our experts.