THE MAGIC OF
MIMICRY
To mimic people means to copy
their speech, dress or behaviour.
In contrast, in science, mimic
means copying ideas from
nature or natural processes to solve problems or to create helpful
products. The influence of this so-called biomimicry can be seen in
a huge range of everyday products, from clothing to cars.
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Perhaps the best-known example of biomimicry is
Velcro®. It was invented in 1941 by a Swiss engineer
called George de Mestral. One day, Mestral noticed
the burdock seeds that stuck to his dog's hair. Under
the microscope, he discovered that these seeds had
hooks on them, so they stuck to loops on clothing or
hair. Mestral copied this idea and created two strips
of material: one with tiny hooks and the other with
loose loops. When he put both strips together, they
stuck like glue. However, unlike with glue, he could
peel the strips apart and reattach them. Velcro® was
initially unpopular with fashion companies, but after
it was used by NASA to stop items from floating in
space, it became popular with children's clothing
companies. Today, it is used to fasten everything from
lunch bags to shoes.
More recently, swimwear has also been influenced
by nature. The Speedo Fastskin, a controversial
swimsuit, was seen at the Beijing Olympics in 2008
and worn by 28 of the 33 gold medal winners. The
technology is based on the rough patterns on a
shark's skin, which allow the shark to swim faster.
A shark's skin also prevents bacteria from growing
on it, so scientists are copying this surface to design
cleaner hospitals.
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For NASA, protecting astronauts' eyes from the sun's
rays is very important, but protecting their eyes
from other dangerous radiation is also essential.
Scientists studied how eagles and falcons clearly
recognize their prey. Scientists discovered that the
birds have yellow oil in their eyes, which filters out
harmful radiation and allows them to see very
clearly. NASA copied this oil, and it is now used
by astronauts and pilots in Eagle Eyes® glasses.
In addition to protecting eyes from dangerous rays,
these sunglasses also improve vision in different
weather conditions such as fog, sunlight or just
normal light.
In another example of biomimicry, Mercedes-Benz
developed a concept car which was based on the
shape of the tropical boxfish. Opinions were divided
about the car's appearance, but the engineers at
Mercedes-Benz chose to copy the boxfish skeleton
to make their Bionic Car because of its strength and
low weight. The boxfish's bony body protects the
animal's insides from injury in the same way that a
car needs to protect the people inside it. This shape
also meant that the car had less air resistance and
therefore used less fuel.
As these examples illustrate, biomimicry appears
to have an unlimited number of applications. It will
be interesting to see which problems nature helps
us solve in the future.
(Write a summary for me in 6 sentences)(very easy )