Rinaldi Naturally Better.pdf

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2007 EuropEan MolEcular Biology organization EMBo reports Vol 8 | no 11 | 2007 99

science & societyanalysis

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s fese, Bes we he bk,Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, 1997 d hs sbseqe beme dm f he w bmm m-m (Bes, 1997). Bess messes e d shfwd. the e des h e, mve b eess, hsed sved m f he bems wee wh, she we he web-se f he Bmm ise (Mss,

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Naturally betterScience and technology are looking to natures successful designs for inspiration

Fig 1 | Geckos have millions of dry, adhesive hairs(setae) on their feet that allow them to stick to nearly any

surface. Each seta branches into 1001,000 flat tips (spatulas) that exploit van der Waals forces to generate

adhesion. These chemical bondstemporarily re-arrange electrons and create an electrodynamic attraction.

Credit: Kellar Autumn, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR, USA.

This is the real news ofbiomimicry: after 3.8billion years of research anddevelopment, failures are fossils,and what surrounds us is thesecret to survival.
http://www.emboreports.org/http://www.emboreports.org/http://www.biomimicry.net/http://www.biomimicry.net/http://www.emboreports.org/


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EMBo reports Vol 8 | no 11 | 2007 2007 EuropEan MolEcular Biology organization99 6

science & society analysis

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fexbe me e, whh whsd she sesses e f meshhe h he eks f. the e sks vs sfes d tef (geet al, 2007).

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The so-called biology-to-design approach begins withunderstanding a biologicalphenomenon and then applyingit to a human design challenge

1m 10 m

5m

75m

A

B

D

E F

C

Macrostructure

Mesostructure

Nanostructures

Microstructure

Fig 2 | Structural hierarchy of the gecko adhesive system. (A) Ventral view of a tokay gecko (Gekko gecko)

climbing a vertical glass surface (photo by M. Moffett). (B) Ventral view of the foot of a tokay gecko,

showing a mesoscale array of seta-bearing scansors, or adhesive lamellae (photo by M. Moffett).

(C) Microscale array of setae arranged in a nearly grid-like pattern on the ventral surface of each scansor.

In this scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image, each diamond-shaped structure is the branched end

of a group of four setae clustered together in a tetrad. (D) Cryo-SEM image of a single gecko seta (image

by S. Gorb & K. Autumn). Note the individual keratin fibrils composing the setal shaft. (E) Nanoscale array

of hundreds of spatular tips of a single gecko seta. (F) Synthetic spatulas fabricated from polyimide using

nanomolding at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in the laboratory of Ronald Fearing. Credit:

Kellar Autumn, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR, USA.
http://www.emboreports.org/http://www.emboreports.org/http://www.emboreports.org/


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Fig 3 | The pitfall trap of the pitcher plantNepenthes alata. In the background, the image from a scanning

electron microscope of the upper and lower wax layers. The diagrams show how the two wax layers reduce

the adhesive ability of insects. The upper layer contaminates the adhesive pads of the insect, whereas the

lower layer decreases the amount of contact between the adhesive hairs of the foot and the substrate.

Credit: Elena Gorb/Max Planck Society.

Proponents of biomimicry hopethat it could help to solve someof the major problems created bythe uncontrolled global growthof industrialization and theexploitation of natural resources.


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EMBo reports Vol 8 | no 11 | 2007 2007 EuropEan MolEcular Biology organization99 8

science & society analysis

eh wh dffee ss esbems, eh wh sees h e w- f s. B he s h s h ex- s k hese bksseesffhe sheves d b hem fse hwe e hem d ed hem. Eve f we e b s em ess, weeed sw he e f ex befe

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bmm s ke deve -vve d sve ss deedwds ssb, sd ghechee, gee See f BmmE (Bsses, Bem). ad chee, he ve f Ee b-mm jes hed b hs e hs me h 100 ees, wh

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e f ds e, whh dse s mde f m me dee fww he he ds -d ssem. We ve mh beeve hhe bmm h w w sf- d, eve, w be vesded ss dses. i m mes f wk he e f ssb,bmm s he i hve fdh s be des ssdf de e ws ed ssbe ess, sd Dese Del fhe Bmm ise. i s he

A

B

D

A

C

Facet lens

Facet lens

Crystalline cone

Crystalline cone

Rhabdom

Rhabdom

Photoreceptor cells

MicrolensMicrolens

Polymer cone

Waveguide core

Polymer cone

Waveguide core

Waveguide cladding

Photodetector

Natural ommatidium

Artificial ommatidium

Natural compound eye

Artificial compound eye

Fig 4 | Anatomical comparisons between a natural compound eye and an artificial compound eye, as

described from cross-sections. (A) An optical micrograph of a honeybees apposition compound eye

(courtesy of B. Greiner). As an individual optical unit, (B) a natural ommatidium consists of a facet

lens, a crystalline cone and photoreceptor cells with a wave-guiding rhabdom. (C) A scanning electron

micrograph of an artificial compound eye and (D) an artificial ommatidium comprising a microlens, a

polymer cone and an optical waveguide that has a higher index core surrounded by a lower index cladding

in a polymer resin. Light hitting a microlens is coupled with polymer cones and waveguides, and then

guided onto photodetectorsat the end of the waveguide. Image from Jeonget al(2006). Reproduced with

permission from American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, USA.

Fig 5 | Microstructure of a biomimetic artificial

compound eye. (A) The spherical arrangement

of 8,370 artificial ommatidia on a hemispherical

polymer dome 2.5 mm in diameter. (B) Hexagonal

microlenses. (C) A cross-section of the artificial

eyewith the spherical arrangement of artificial

ommatidia consisting of microlenses, polymer

cones, and waveguide arrays. Image from Jeonget al

(2006). Reproduced with permission from American

Association for the Advancement of Science,

Washington, DC, USA.

Im still ambivalent as towhether biomimicry is anenvironmentally correctmarketing ploy that promisesmore than it will be able todeliver, or the inadvertentrediscovery of practices that areas old as human creativity.

300m

300m

10m

A

B

C


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whehe bmm s ev-me e mke h m-ses me h w be be deve, he dvee edsve f es he s d s hm ev, sd peeDeshes, exe ssbe e-m deveme d ehv he uves f tMssss cd. He beeves h weed we m f ese eh-es s fm e. the b-em, s i see , s h hee s fe wdf exeme bewee bs de ms b es d he s fhse mme vbe des ssems, he sd. Bmmsshd emembe thms Edss fmsdm h ve ( es) s 1% s- d 99% es. im fd hm f hem d see mh bed he1%. Hv des be sed b es e h, b s fs se. Mhwk eeds be de fewds d hsbb exs wh we d hs he wwe d hem w he h sm hs s we see hem e.

ahh he d fm he ves

md he e wd s e e, smef hse wh dw s fm ee we h sme m e s eess he w fwd, he mb- sed des d hmveveess. im e s mexedev, d bd bmme hs he bes mehd, lke lee drbe Sem we Science. Hweve,f we e be dede he dess, he hemb f ev mesd es wsdm s ses e whedbe e (lee & Sem, 2005).

rEFErEncESam K (2007) gek dhes: se,

f, d s. MRS Bulletin32:473478

am K, S M, l ya, pee aM,Hse Wr, Sbe S, Ke tW, Fe r,isehv Jn, F rJ (2002) Evdee f v

de Ws dhes ek see. Proc NatlAcad Sci USA99: 1225212256

Bes JM (1997) Biomimicry: Innovation Inspiredby Nature. new yk, ny, uSa: WmMw & cm i

de ns r, Sebe pD, Wemse p,Dwj Sa, gbesh cl, K rJ (1995)Bd sem effes f sed mebesfm he ed Delisea pulchra fsss. Biofouling8: 259271

ge l, Seh S, c l, aj pM, Dhjw a (2007)cb be-bsed she ek es.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA104:1079210795

gb E, Hs K, Heh a, Edes S,Bbkde n, gb S (2005) cmse

se f he se e wxe f he se e he hes f hevs Nepenthes alata d s effe se hme.J Exp Biol208: 46514662

Hee M et al(2003) ae fPseudomonas aeruginosa vee b qmses hbs. EMBO J22: 38033815

Hbe g, M H, Sek r, Meke K,Jbs K, gb Sn, a E (2005) Evdee f bs ek dhes fmse s meh mesemes.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA102: 1629316296

Je K-H, Km J, lee lp (2006) Bsed f md ees. Science312:557561

lee lp, Sem r (2005) iss fm bs f dved h ssems. Science310: 11481150

Andrea Rinaldi

doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7401107
http://www.emboreports.org/http://www.emboreports.org/http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/sj.embor.7401107http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/sj.embor.7401107http://www.emboreports.org/

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