Interdisciplinarity: Bring biologists into biomimetics

Abstract

the production of spider silk (which has a unique combination of strength and elasticity) from genetically engineered silkworms 3 ; and the development of catalysts akin to components used in photosynthesis to improve the efficiency of solar power 4 . TAP EXPERTISEBioinspiration is poised to play a major part in efforts to solve problems relating to health, energy efficiency and food security. To realize this promise, researchers from architectural design and materials to robotics and engineered tissues 1,2 (see 'Trends in biomimetics'). The fervour is likely to be amplified by the emergence of the cheap and easy-to-use genome-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, which has dramatically opened up the possibilities of altering organisms or their products.Biomimicry successes in recent years include the mimicking of aquaporin molecules -proteins that form pores in the membranes of cells -for desalinization; Bring biologists into biomimeticsEngineers, chemists and others taking inspiration from biological systems for human applications must team up with biologists, writes Emilie Snell-Rood. In the late 1940s, Swiss engineer George de Mestral was inspired to invent Velcro after picking burrs from the fur of his dog. Five decades later, Japanese engineer Eiji Nakatsu, who had a passion for bird watching, designed a high-speed train with an aerodynamic front shaped like a kingfisher's beak.Over the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in such bioinspiration and biomimicry -the imitation of biological traits or systems in applications ranging

Paradigms for biologically inspired design

“…The exponential growth of research into biologically inspired design since then has been documented by a number of studies focusing on either the number of published papers [6][7][8] or the number of new patents 9,10 .…”

Breathing life into climate change adaptation

“…Indeed, the lack of expert facilitators that can traverse with ease the disciplinary boundaries may be a barrier—more so for the implementation of biological adaptation than for IE. Stakeholders will have to be open to these new approaches and there must be sufficient expertise in the project team to conduct IE and biological adaptation research and communication activities, particularly with regard to evolutionary knowledge (Snell‐Rood, ).…”

“…Step 3 in the adaptation cycle is concerned with finding climate change adaptation options. The identification of potential solutions from the vast biological adaptation knowledge pool is not a trivial undertaking and will require intimate knowledge of the biological sciences and in particular of evolutionary biology, genetics, and ecology (Snell‐Rood, ). Learning from biological adaptation is a new idea in the context of climate change adaptation but the exploration of biological phenomena for societal benefit in engineering and material sciences, referred to as biomimetics or biologically inspired design, is well established (Bhushan, ).…”

Designing Biologically Inspired Movements into the Esthetics of Interactive Artifacts

“…They were considered to be 'biophilic movements'. It was important to have a biologist to consult with when designing and taking inspiration from nature in order to beneit from his knowledge and expertise [36]. This interdisciplinary study included on-going consultations with a biologist, Dr. Jef Dawson, as a method for gaining more insight about the movements of living creatures.…”