
Biomineralization: An Engineering Masterpiece
Computerized tomography (CT) scans use computing power to compile two-dimensional X-ray images into a three-dimensional view, and researchers are optimistic that a new form of high-resolution CT scanning at the molecular level will give “scientists precious new information about how Mother Nature forms shells, bones, and other hard structures.”1 They hope to learn how to mimic the st

The Finest Solar Technology Doesn't Come from a Lab
Advances in solar cell technology have produced a new European record of 39.7 percent efficiency. The result was attributed to improved “contact structures” of solar cells, according to Frank Dimroth at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg.1

Green Chemical Clean-up
In another instance of scientists borrowing design elements from natural systems (a process known as biomimicry), researchers have developed a chemical catalyst modeled after peroxidase enzymes. Peroxidase is a complex protein that converts certain chemicals from harmful to benign and is found in almost all living cells.

The Steady Gaze of Flies: An Engineering Marvel
Scientists at Imperial College in London have flies on their minds. "Anyone who has watched one fly chasing another at incredibly high speed, without crashing or bumping into anything, can appreciate the high-end flight performance of these animals,” Dr. Holger Krapp of the Department of Bioengineering said in an Imperial College news release.1

World's First Artificial DNA Molecule (Well, Almost)
Biomimicry is the science of designing machines that follow patterns that can be observed within God's creation. One example of this is the helicopter, which Ukrainian-American aviation pioneer Igor Sikorski designed after a lengthy study of dragonflies. Another case is the cutting-edge, self-cleaning boat coatings modeled on shark skin.1