Nature has devised structures and materials all around us that are significantly lighter, stronger, more resilient and efficient than we have been able to achieve given our best shot. This has been done in water, at room temperatures, and without toxic chemicals or high pressures. The spider has silk that is five times as strong as steel; the abalone shell is twice as resilient our best ceramics, and rhino horn manages self repair even though it has no living cells. (Biomimicry, Benyus) This short list continues to include a wide array of natural material and structural phenomenon that, frankly, leaves me breathless with wonderment and sometimes scratching my head.
It has been a decade since my first read of Janine Benyus' Biomimicry: Innovations Inspired by Nature. Though the book still engenders hope and wonder when I pick it up from time to time, I can't help wishing that the next edition be released, replete with a new host of incredible stories, more food for thought. -KD
1 BENYUS, JANINE. Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. New York: Harper Collins, 2002.
