Natures wonders: biomimetics; a review (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, August 03, 2015, 14:13 (3398 days ago) @ David Turell

This article describes several different advances:-http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/43625/title/Inspired-by-Nature/-"The jellyfish is far from the only intriguing organism to have served as a blueprint for scientists in the field of bioinspired medicine. Researchers have taken cues from the adhesive chemistry perfected by mussels and marine worms to create tissue glues that stick in wet and turbulent conditions; from red blood cell membranes to help drug-carrying nanoparticles avoid immune attack; and from the slippery slides that help carnivorous pitcher plants catch prey to produce novel antibacterial surfaces. (See “Bioinspired Antibacterial Surfaces.”) Nature, it seems, provides a compendium of biomedical solutions.-“'Nature has used the power of evolution by natural selection to develop the most efficient ways to solve all kinds of problems,” says Donald Ingber, founding director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in Boston. “We've uncovered so much about how nature works, builds, controls, and manufactures from the nanoscale up. Now we're starting to leverage those biological principles.'”