Biomimicry

Biomimicry is the process of studying nature’s best adaptations and reproducing them to solve human problems. Biomimicry is an important scientific field because nature does not make waste or pollution that cannot be used or recycled by nature. Waste and pollution are currently two of humankind’s biggest environmental issues so there is a lot to be learned from nature. Biomimicry also spotlight the amazing adaptions that animals possess often overlooked by humans. Familiar examples of human creations inspired by nature include military sonar from bat and dolphin echolocation and webbed diving gear modeled after web-footed animals like ducks. Current research in biomimetics is exploring the use of spider silk to make the synthetic fiber Kevlar in a less polluting way, creating artificial   bacteria that is capable of removing petroleum from water, and copying adhesive created by mussels to make an environmentally safe, waterproof adhesive. Successful biomimetic technology can drastically decrease the amount of damage humans do to the environment.