Featured Strategies 1 of 24
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Anchor has flexibility: bull kelp
Anchors of bull kelp protect it from torque by being flexible.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Manage structural forces > |
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Mechanical wear |
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| Providing flexible but strong anchors for buildings in areas of high winds, unstable ground, or underwater. Providing anchors for wave- or tidal-powered energy structures. |
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Biofilm-inhibiting chemical protects surfaces: red alga
Delisea pulchra protects itself from bacterial infection by exuding compounds that inhibit biofilms.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Protect from biotic factors > |
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Microbes |
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| Anti-fouling products, anti-bacterial materials and coatings, water treatment applications, cleaning products, anti-corrosive for oil and gas pipelines, drug candidate for treatment of lung infections. |
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Wing surface self-cleans: Morpho butterfly
Wing surface of Morpho butterfly sheds water and dirt via hydrophobic microstructure.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Protect from abiotic factors > |
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Dirt/solids |
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| Self-cleaning windows, paints, lenses, and other surfaces. |
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Thin-walled tubular stems resist buckling: bamboo
The stems of many plants may resist buckling by including transverse bulkheads that prevent ovalization.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Prevent structural failure > |
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Buckling |
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Pattern diversity: forest floor
Leaves on a forest floor create aesthetically seamless surfaces by exhibiting organized chaos.
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Maintain community > |
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Provide ecosystem services > |
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Maintain biodiversity |
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| Biophilic patterns for interior designs. Patterns for use in carpets, flooring, walls, textiles to allow for replacement upon damage or staining without having to replace or repaint the entire surface. |
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Platelets block blood loss: humans
The circulatory system of humans prevents blood loss from wounds by sending platelets to block the hole.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Protect from abiotic factors > |
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Loss of liquids |
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| Blocking leaks in pipelines and other vessels. |
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Elevated rings increase diversity: seaside arrowgrass
Seaside arrowgrass facilitates plant diversity in salt marshes by creating elevated rings with its rhizomes.
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Maintain community > |
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Provide ecosystem services > |
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Maintain biodiversity |
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| Creating microhabitats to support multiple species. Creating areas of reduced salinity. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a tidal gauge at Portland, Maine, USA recorded a rate of sea level rise of c. 1.91 mm per year since 1912. With continued rising sea levels expected as a result of global climate change, it is important to conserve ecosystem engineers such as seaside arrowgrass that respond to waterlogging by creating mounds, and thus foster increased species and habitat diversity. Mimicking the way that seaside arrowgrass creates microhabitats may be useful in agricultural settings. We could mimic the clump structure to provide microclimates via raised areas in agricultural fields. These raised areas could support different species, provide islands of reduced salinity, or keep crops above flood levels. We could also mimic creation of microhabitats in human habitats by creating a diversity of topography, climate, and cultural centers in a community or a business to create and maintain a diverse populace. |
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Efficient propulsion system: bluefin tuna
Tails of bluefin tuna conserve energy by using thunniform swimming.
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Move or stay put > |
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Move > |
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In/on liquids |
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| Tidal and wave energy systems. |
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Lightweighting: Scots pine
Trunks and branches of trees withstand external stresses through load-adaptive growth.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Manage structural forces > |
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Tension |
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Wing scales diffract and scatter light: Morpho butterflies
Wings of Morpho butterflies create color by diffracting and scattering light.
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Modify > |
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Modify physical state > |
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Light/color |
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Beak design absorbs high-energy impacts: toco toucan
Toucan beaks are built lightweight and strong thanks to a rigid foamy inside and layers of fibrous keratin tile outside.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Manage structural forces > |
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Impact |
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Sticky proteins serve as glue: blue mussel
Byssus threads of the blue mussel attach to a wet, solid surface due to catechols on adhesive proteins that overcome the surface’s affinity for water molecules.
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Move or stay put > |
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Attach > |
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Permanently |
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Grooves gather water: thorny devil
Grooves on spikes of thorny devil lizard provide drinking water by drawing condensed dew to mouth by capillary action.
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Get, store, or distribute resources > |
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Capture, absorb, or filter > |
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Liquids |
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| Collection and delivery of water from dew and rain. |
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Electric current reduces friction: common earthworm
Skin of earthworms repels soil adhesion with a thin water film, created by electro-osmotic flow.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Protect from abiotic factors > |
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Dirt/solids |
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Groups vote on hive locations: honeybees
Honeybees in a colony select a new hive location via range voting.
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Maintain community > |
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Cooperate and compete > |
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Within the same species |
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Rapid color change used for protection: cuttlefish
The skin of cuttlefish changes color rapidly, in order to evade predators, using elastic pigment sacs called chromatophores.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Protect from biotic factors > |
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Animals |
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| Biodegradable video screens for electronic devices; eliminate toxic pigments in commercial coatings and products, including paints, textiles, paper, and building products; flexible solar shading or coatings for buildings. |
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Multiple organisms interact: soil ecosystem
The soil ecosystem supports plant growth through interactions of millions of organisms that work together to break down chemicals and aerate the soil.
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Break down > |
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Physically break down > |
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Biotic materials |
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Feather structure insulates: Canada goose
Down feathers of geese insulate through special architecture.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Protect from abiotic factors > |
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Temperature |
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Flippers provide lift, reduce drag: humpback whale
The flippers of the humpback whale channel flow and increase aerodynamic efficiency due to tubercles or bumps.
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Move or stay put > |
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Move > |
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In/on liquids |
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Ventilated nests remove heat and gas: mound-building termites
Mounds of macrotermitine termites maintain homeostasis through tunnels, chimneys, and use of wind creating pressure fields.
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Get, store, or distribute resources > |
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Distribute > |
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Gases |
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| Use for low-cost ventilation of buildings. |
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Eyes are anti-reflective: elephant hawk-moth
Eyes of nocturnal moths are anti-reflective due to nanoscale protrusions.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Protect from biotic factors > |
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Animals |
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| Anti-reflective, anti-glare, self-cleaning coatings for solar cell collectors, windows, computer screens, flat-panel displays, vehicle dashboards, and optical elements. Super-hydrophobic coatings to prevent contamination, erosion, and bacterial accumulation. Improve the conversion efficiencies of crystalline silicon solar cells by mimicking moth eyes. |
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Hydrophobic surface allows self-cleaning: sacred lotus
Leaves of the sacred lotus are self-cleaning thanks to nanoscale bumps.
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Maintain physical integrity > |
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Protect from abiotic factors > |
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Dirt/solids |
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Hole structure strengthens bone: horse
A metacarpal bone of a horse avoids structural weakness caused by a hole via stress-dispersing microstructure.
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Get, store, or distribute resources > |
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Distribute > |
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Energy |
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| Use for increasing strength of airplanes, boats, automobiles, other structures that have holes for wiring or fuel and hydraulic lines. (A quick rule of efficiency in the aerospace industry is that one pound of weight saved in a plane can save 10 pounds of fuel.) |
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Photosynthesis: Cooke's koki'o
Photosynthesis in plants converts solar energy to chemical energy by splitting water to release hydrogen.
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Get, store, or distribute resources > |
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Capture, absorb, or filter > |
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Energy |
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| Dye-sensitized solar cells |
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These featured strategies provide examples of the types of content available on AskNature.
Rainforest habitat
Stay Warm
NYSERDA Energy
Cooling Down
