structural color
81. Bones are lightweight yet strong: birds
"The bird skeleton is highly adapted to the capacity for flight. It is extremely lightweight but strong enough to withstand the stresses that a bird experiences, when taking off, flying or landing…Birds have many bones that are hollow, with...
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Email82. Chitin teams up with lipids to form highly water resistant layer.
Chitin is the major structural component of the exoskeleton of invertebrates and cell walls of fungi. The chitin-protein complex of the procuticle underlies the exterior non-cellular epicuticle where secreted lipid layers accumulate. The chitin-pr...
83. Butterflies see with three kinds of cells.
“A basic set of ultraviolet-, blue- and green-sensitive receptors, encountered among nymphalid butterflies, forms the basis for trichromatic vision. Screening pigments surrounding the light-receiving rhabdoms can modify the spectral sensitivity ...
84. Plants survive repeated drying and rehydration: lesser clubmoss
"Some plants, for example, in the genus Selaginella, can repeatedly dry and rehydrate without structural damage. They avoid critical cell deformations during severe dehydration by using vacuoles of smaller size that are filled with tannin colloids...
85. i2™ Modular Carpet
i2™ Modular Carpet is a line of carpet tiles featuring a random, nondirectional pattern and gradations of colors. These design features allow for individual tile replacement as needed, without worrying about matching patterns or dye lots.&nb...
86. Nodes and pneumatic structures give support: Dutch rush
"Researchers headed by Thomas Speck from the University of Freiburg are looking to plant stems to provide inspiration for creating light-weight structures with variable stiffness and for creating structures that rapidly self-repair. Plants with ho...
87. KERATIN-PROTEIN COMPLEX CREATES TIGHT WATER BARRIER.
The lipid-keratin complex is embedded (and creates) a surface membrane, known as the stratum corneum. This complex is found in reptiles, birds, and mammals. The fundamental factors that determine the degree of water resistance of the complex inclu...
88. Lightweighting: Scots pine
"The analogy that [Claus] Mattheck wants to pursue, though, is not that between trees and other organisms, but between trees and engineered artefacts. If trees achieve longevity and structural stability, aren't these the qualities of reliability a...
89. The leaf texture or “hardness” varies in the wide range of environments for many reasons, including environmental stress and herbivory.
“‘Sclerophylly’ means ‘hard-leaved’, though biologists also use terms such as ‘tough’, ‘stiff ’ and ‘leathery’ to describe such leaves. The term was coined by Schimper (1903) to distinguish xeromorphic plants with leathery le...
90. Eyes see color with precision: mantis shrimp
"The mantis shrimp can see fine shades of colors with great precision and studying their eyes could benefit the paint and clothing industries as well as improve detection of camouflaged targets and counterfeit documents." (Courtesy of the Biomimic...
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