biomimetics great designs: camel noses sense humidity (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, January 20, 2022, 19:26 (829 days ago) @ David Turell

We don't and must use instruments:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220119142819.htm

"Camels have a renowned ability to survive on little water. They are also adept at finding something to drink in the vast desert, using noses that are exquisite moisture detectors. In a new study in ACS Nano, researchers describe a humidity sensor inspired by the structure and properties of camels' noses. In experiments, they found this device could reliably detect variations in humidity in settings that included industrial exhaust and the air surrounding human skin.

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"Narrow, scroll-like passages within a camel's nose create a large surface area, which is lined with water-absorbing mucus. To mimic the high-surface-area structure within the nose, the team created a porous polymer network. On it, they placed moisture-attracting molecules called zwitterions to simulate the property of mucus to change capacitance as humidity varies. In experiments, the device was durable and could monitor fluctuations in humidity in hot industrial exhaust, find the location of a water source and sense moisture emanating from the human body. Not only did the sensor respond to changes in a person's skin perspiration as they exercised, it detected the presence of a human finger and could even follow its path in a V or L shape. This sensitivity suggests that the device could become the basis for a touchless interface through which someone could communicate with a computer, according to the researchers. What's more, the sensor's electrical response to moisture can be tuned or adjusted, much like the signals sent out by human neurons -- potentially allowing it to learn via artificial intelligence, they say."

Comment: Great design, as usual better than the ones we make. Did this come with the original camelids? One can propose starting close to a desert and by slowly venturing out the design develops. But the complexity is precise and effective and I believe far beyond dhw's wishes for cellular intelligence. Cells just ain't that smart, even if given design ability by God as dhw always theorizes. A purposeful God sees established endpoints to development by evolution. Cell designers don't have God's foresight or His direct abilities. That makes dhw's designer cells as secondhand designers n ot llikely to give God the results He definitely wants.