Back in the 1960s, space scientists needed to know if it is true that a cat always lands on its feet: NASA contributed funding to the paper “A Dynamical Explanation of the Falling Cat Phenomenon,” published in the International Journal of Solids and Structures, by Stanford’s T.R. Kane and M.P. Scher. What was so significant […]
Biomimicry
Suzan Mazur asks: How far have we gotten in understanding the mechanome?
The mechanome is the underresearched “ the set of proteins or molecular entities that sense or respond to forces” within the cell (Allen Liu). Our earlier stab at the subject here at UD garnered 354 comments, so there’s no shortage of interest. The mechanome (and mechanobiology in general) plays a key role in research into artificial […]
Fri Nite Frite: The electric eel’s biggest shock: Sophisticated use of electricity
Not just to zap prey, apparently. From Ed Yong at the Atlantic: It’s a remote control. It’s a tracking device. It can deliver shocks of up to 600 volts. But then you did want to stay awake, didn’t you? You think the electric eel is shocking? You haven’t seen anything yet. In this episode of […]
Nobel award for design of molecular machines
“three laureates discovered how to use molecules as components of tiny machines that can be controlled to perform specific tasks.”
Biomimetics: Termites had complex gut reactors 30 million years ago
Who knows, maybe we’ll end up farming termite colonies to work for us instead of just hiring pest control specialists to kill them.
Discovery: Partially metal-plated syringe used by insect
First ever confirmed.
Eyes have it all: Unique solution to vision problem
Life form’s amazing eyes “must be” self-organized, can’t be engineered from top down, we are assured
Astonishing bioluminescent animals seen during 2-hour underwater descent
The octopuses’ disappearing act is remarkable too.
Mechanical gear found in living organism — Behe’s IC still a challenge for Darwinism
First gear discovered With two diminutive legs locked into a leap-ready position, the tiny jumper bends its body taut like an archer drawing a bow. At the top of its legs, a minuscule pair of gears engage—their strange, shark-fin teeth interlocking cleanly like a zipper. And then, faster than you can blink, think, or see […]
Can DNA built structures evidence intelligence?
How do we distinguish systems formed by natural laws, from stochastic processes, and from systems designed by intelligent agents? See Demski’s Explanatory Filter at ARN and at the IDEA Center. Now at Harvard’s Molecular Systems Lab, Peng Yin is currently focused on engineering programmable molecular systems that are inspired by biology, such as the information-directed, self-assembly […]
Discovery of Design by Don DeYoung and Derrick Hobbs
Creationists are now beginning to embrace the Design argument. If biology is Intelligently Designed, it stands to reason the designs can be used to teach humans how to construct designs. The implications of ID are not purely religious. This fact is often forgotten. The presumption that biology is mostly cobbled together junk is a hindrance […]
Have a look at this robotic ape …
“just one of several “biologically inspired” robot explorers under test, including robot insects.”
Dolphins show truly impressive math skills
“”These dolphins were either ‘blinding’ their most spectacular sensory apparatus when hunting – which would be odd, though they still have sight to reply on – or they have a sonar that can do what human sonar cannot”
Biomimetics, with coffee: R&D 100 Award goes to the plant that tried to eat Darwinist Nick Matzke
But the pitcher plant didn’t get the award for that.
Shrimp’s clublike arm is “holy grail for materials engineers”
“They found that the club is a highly complex structure, composed of three specialized regions that work together to create a structure tougher than many engineered ceramics.
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