purify water
31. Leaves retain air films underwater: water fern
"A novel mechanism for long-term air retention under water is found in the sophisticated surface design of the water fern Salvinia. Its floating leaves are evenly covered with complex hydrophobic hairs retaining a layer of air when submerged...
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Email32. Tissues absorb nitrogen: haircap moss
"Polytrichum alpinum [Polytrichastrum alpinum] (class Polytrichospida) is predominantly endohydric, transporting water up from underlying substrate by means of water-conducting hydroids (Longton 1988; Buck & Goffinet 2000), whereas Racomitrium...
33. Mouthpart curls and uncurls: butterfly
The butterfly proboscis is curled in its resting state and uncurls to feed by changing the water pressure in the tube-like structures. When the butterfly is ready to feed, it applies hydrostatic (water) pressure to straighten the tube into a straw...
34. Pores move water through membranes: cells
"Because water is the major component of all living cells, the ability to absorb and release water must be considered a fundamental property of life. Cell membranes are exquisitely selective barriers that control the solute composition of the encl...
35. Gas-storage chamber controls buoyancy: nautilus
"The body of the mollusc inhabits the very last of a spiralling series of chambers inside the shell. By filling the inner chambers with a mixture of air and water, the nautilus achieves perfect buoyancy, allowing it to rise effortlessly during its...
36. Dinoflagellates use water to catalyze conversion of chemicals into toxins.
“Selectivity rules in organic chemistry have been inferred largely from nonaqueous environments. In contrast, enzymes operate in water, and the chemical effect of the medium change remains only partially understood. Structural characterizati...
37. Sea squirts siphon constant flow of water.
Tunicates are sac shaped with two siphons. The siphons pass a continuous stream of water through the body that allows them to filter feed.(CITATION)
38. Lichen sucks water from air without getting waterlogged.
A water-repellant strategy thought to be used by substrate-hygrophytic lichen (those that draw water from the substrate) is the use of a film of hydrophobins across the lichen's surface (Valadares 1994). Hydrophobins are small peptides rich in sul...
39. Leaf arrangement collects water: epiphytes
"Collospermums are more specialized as epiphytes…The form of the nests is similar to those of the astelias, but the leaves are different. They are broadly rounded at the base and arranged in wide fans with enclosed spaces between them that ...
40. Dew Bank Bottle
Inspired by the fog-gathering technique of the Namib desert beetle, the Dew Bank Bottle is designed to harvest water from the air. Designed by Kitae Pak, the stainless steel, dome-shaped invention resembles the desert beetle's body. The Dew Bank B...
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