From flying snakes to surfing fish, nature provides an endless source of inspiration for human inventions. Many new inventions and techniques come from the imitation of nature, and a discipline born from it is called biomimicry. Jenny Benyous is the co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute, a nonprofit in the United States, who made the term widely known by publishing the book Bionics in 1997. "Bionics is basically about finding an ecosystem that has solved a design challenge when faced with it, and then trying to mimic what you know," she writes. ”
The horned high-body golden-eyed seabream (Anoplogaster cornuta) is an ultra-black, deep-sea fish
As scientists studying the natural world make new discoveries, inventors and engineers continue to draw inspiration from these discoveries and apply natural solutions to new technologies. Whether it's building better robots, tracking cancer cells more effectively, or improving telescopes to study space, we can find useful solutions in living things. Here are the top 10 scientific discoveries of 2020 published by Smithsonian Magazine that could lead to new inventions.
1. Fish "surfing" on the backs of other marine creatures
The "suction cup" of the fish does not actually cling to the whale's skin, but hovers above the skin, forming a low-pressure zone, which adsorbs around the whale
Fish are the most adept free-riding animals in the ocean. The fish, which is 30 to 110 centimeters long, is also known as a suction cup fish, and has a suction cup on the top of its head that can fix itself on a cetacean or shark, like "a sticky flat hat". But fishing isn't just a free ride. A 2020 study found that when these fish swim with their hosts, they can actually "surf" on the host's back. That is, the fish will glide along the host's body and tend to cluster near the whale's water vents and dorsal fins, where they have less drag — they will nibble on dead skins and parasites during the "surf" process.
Researchers such as Brooke Flammang and Jeremy Goldbogen have found that the location chosen by the fish is the key to their attachment. Flammang noted that the area between the blue whale's water jet hole and dorsal fin, in particular, has "much slower liquid" compared to the area a few centimeters up. In fact, the suckers of the fish do not adhere to the whale's skin either, and in most cases, the suction cups hover above the skin, forming a low-pressure zone that adsorbs around the whale.
Flammang, a biologist at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, was inspired by the fish and has begun working on an artificial suction cup. She hopes the suction cup could be used to install cameras and tracking devices for endangered marine animals such as blue whales. At present, the ordinary suction cups used by the researchers can fix the camera on the study subjects, but the grip can only be maintained for 24 to 48 hours. Flammang's new device is expected to last for several weeks and effectively reduce drag. Currently, her team is testing the suction cup on a flexible surface and preparing to design a fish-shaped shell for the camera. Eventually, they will field test the device on live animals, including whales, dolphins, sharks and manta rays.
"The biologically inspired advances in attachment made in Dr. Flammang's lab will revolutionize the way we implant labels in animals to make them more successful and effective," writes Goldbogen, a marine biologist at Stanford University. ”
2. Fish fins are as sensitive as fingertips
Adam Hardy's team, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago, has found that fins can not only be used to swim and steer directions, but are as sensitive as the fingertips of primates. The researchers came to this conclusion through a study of neogobius melanostomus. It is a broadly saline benthic fish native to the Black and Caspian Seas, but has long since invaded many rivers in Europe, even as far as the Great Lakes region of North America. These small fish usually inhabit rocks, and their ventral fins have healed into a suction cup shape.
Neogobius melanostomus usually inhabit rocks, and its fins are "as sensitive as the fingers of a primate"
To determine how sensitive the gobies' fins were, the team euthanized the fish and then injected saline to ensure their nerves functioned properly during the experiment. They then used a special device to record the pattern of electrical nerve impulses as the fins swept through a stationary wheel. The study's co-author, Neuroscientist Melina Hale of the University of Chicago, noted that the measurements show that the fins are able to sense "very small details." The researchers hope that this discovery will inspire research into robotic perception technology, especially in the field of underwater robotics.
3. Indestructible beetle exoskeleton
This beetle is called the "Demon Iron Ingot Beetle" and is absolutely worthy of its name. Most insects live for only a few weeks, but this beetle has a lifespan of up to 8 years, which is roughly equivalent to thousands of years of human life. To achieve such feats, they evolved extraordinary exoskeleton "armor".
The beetle is less than 2 centimeters long, but it can survive being run over by a car — David Kiserluth, an engineer at the University of California, Irvine, and his team drove a Toyota Camry and ran a beetle twice, but it survived. After several technical experiments, the team found that the beetle could withstand 39,000 times more stress than its own body weight.
This beetle, which is less than 2 centimeters long, can survive even if it is run over twice by a car and is known as the "Demon Iron Ingot Beetle"
A number of factors contribute to this miraculous phenomenon. First, the exoskeleton of this beetle is flattened, rather than round like a ladybug. Second, inside their exoskeletons is a protein-rich layered structure, and each layer can move individually without destroying the entire exoskeleton. Third, the two halves of the exoskeleton are connected like a puzzle, and each layer follows a puzzle-like curve to reinforce the thinnest part of the joint, such as the two exoskeletons at the head and thorax junction are locked to each other.
The researchers proposed in the paper that by borrowing from the "devil iron ingot beetle", it is possible to design an interlocking fastener with similar traits but fewer layers for fixing aircraft turbines, among other things. The team created a 3D printed "laminated" model. They predict that this discovery could help develop new aerospace fasteners that can increase strength and dramatically increase toughness. In fact, this design can be used in any situation where two different materials need to be joined, such as metal and plastic in bridges, buildings and vehicles.
4. Explained the supermelanin of 16 species of deep-sea fish
Karen Osborne, a marine biologist at the National Museum of Natural History, once inadvertently fished a deep-sea cuspid fish from a crab net. When they tried to take a picture of the black fish, they found that no matter how hard they tried, they could not capture the details of the fish's body. They later discovered that the fish was indeed "out of phase" because its tissue absorbed 99.5 percent of the camera's flash.
Their study included the fangfish (horned goldeye snapper) and 15 other species, all of which had ultra-black pigmentation that blended into the pitch-black deep-sea environment. Although light cannot reach this part of the ocean, some fish can glow. For cunning predatory fish, the dark body color absorbs as much light as possible, making it the best invisibility cloak.
Idiacanthus antrostomus is also an ultra-black deep-sea fish with the second-highest ability to absorb light
Many land and marine animals are black, but the blacks made by humans reflect about 10 percent of light, and most other black fish reflect about 2 percent of light. To break through the "ultra-black" threshold, the 16 species need to reduce the proportion of reflected light to 0.5%. To do this, they evolved huge capsule-like melanoids (cells containing melanin) and arranged them very closely. In other black (but not ultra-black) animals, the melanoids are more loosely arranged and smaller and rounder in shape.
By mimicking the shape, structure, and distribution of the melanoid bodies of these ultra-black deep-sea fish, materials scientists may be able to create artificial supermelanin. This pigment can be used to cover the inside of a telescope to get a better view of the night sky, or to improve the light absorption rate of solar panels. Karen Osborne also noted that the discovery would even be of interest to naval researchers, "if armor with this melanoid body could be made, it would be well suited for night operations."
5, flying snakes will fluctuate for the sake of stability
Snakes not only crawl on the ground, but also swim in the water, but this is not enough, there are 5 kinds of "flying" snakes in the world. To be precise, their flight is more like a highly coordinated landing, and it looks a bit like their writhing and sideways on land, but with the help of gravity. Perhaps, as Virginia Tech biomechanics researcher Jack Socha describes, the snakes fly like a "giant writhing band."
These "flying snakes" belong to the genus Chrysopelea, which can compress their rounded torsos into flat triangles for more air resistance, gliding from one tree to another at distances of tens of meters. For scientists, though, the left-right swing they do in the air doesn't seem to make sense. In the study, Jack Socha's team rented a four-story gymnasium at Virginia Tech and attached a reflective band to seven flying snakes, recording their more than 150 jumps with a high-speed camera (don't worry about the safety of these snakes, the research team had to pass safety protocols and equip the venue with foam floors and fake trees).
Using reflective tape, the research team used a 3D computer model to reproduce the flight process of the "flying snake"
The flight of these snakes was very short, so the team used reflective tape to reproduce it using a 3D computer model. They found that flying snakes swung vertically twice as often as they swung horizontally, and their tails swung up and down. Isaac Eaton, a mechanical engineer at Virginia Tech, said: "The wavy undulating motion of other animals is to propel, and we proved that flying snakes do this to maintain stability." ”
The team hopes their findings will help develop a snake-like search and rescue robot. Isaac Eaton says the robots have the advantage of being stable as they move and through tight spaces. Working in some very narrow spaces can cause a typical robot to trip or fall. Their goal is to one day develop robots that can mimic the movements of snakes, bringing together all the twists, turns, and sudden turns.
"By combining these movements, you can have a platform that can move in a complex environment: a robot can climb up a tree or a building, glide quickly to another area, and then glide or swim somewhere else," Says Isaac Eaton. ”
6. Filtration system made of tail sea sheath
Tailed sea serenas are somewhat tadpoles in shape, only slightly larger; they can reach a length of up to 10 centimeters. These tiny creatures live freely hundreds of meters below the surface of the sea, where food is scarce.
The researchers used laser scanning tools to uncover the complex "snot palaces" built by the creature, as study author Kakani Katija, a biological engineer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, called the snot-like mucus structure. Tail sea squirts have no hands or feet, they use their own secretions to build a complex "mucus chamber", which is a filter device composed of internal and external filters, which can greatly improve the feeding efficiency of tail sea squirts.
Tail Sea Squirt used its own secretions to build a complex slime balloon, a filtration system that feeds on organic particles
Like spiders hunting with knotted webs, the tail sea squirts also use these sticky structures to capture the tiny, sparse grains of food that pass by. Their tiny bodies sit right in the middle of the "slime chamber" and flow water through the maze of pipes through tail swings. In the dark deep sea, any wrong move can lead to death, and this slime balloon can also provide protection for them.
Kakani Katija hopes to draw inspiration from these small animals and one day develop a bionic inflatable filtration system. Considering that these animals can filter out particles smaller than viruses, perhaps medical-grade or HEPA filters could be improved with such equipment. "We're still in the exploratory phase of this project, and I hope other researchers can continue," she said. ”
7. Glowing blue slime of scaly silkworms
Flashes of luminous creatures such as fireflies usually last less than 1 second and up to 10 seconds. But the phosphorus silkworm in the ocean (Chaetopterus sp.) They are somewhat "gifted" and can produce a bright blue sticky substance that can glow anywhere for 16 to 72 hours. Since the mucus is always glowing outside the body, it does not waste the energy of the organism, which is very good for the survival of the phosphorus silkworm. This also begs the question: How did this mucus keep glowing for so long?
Researchers Evelien De Meulenaere, Christina Puzzanghera and Dimitri D of the University of California, San Diego. Deheyn examined the complex chemical composition of the phosphorus silkworm mucus and found that it contained a ferritin capable of releasing ions or charged atoms. This form of ferritin reacts with blue light, triggering the production of more ions, which creates a constantly glowing feedback loop.
The mucus of the polychaete scaly silkworm emits light outside the body, so it does not waste the energy of the organism
The team hopes to replicate the unique ferrous photoin (a protein associated with biofluorescence) that illuminates cancer cells during surgery. Deheyn also said they could develop a synthetic biocell that could be used in an emergency of a power outage, similar to stickers that glow in the dark.
"The reason luminous stickers are always glowing is because they accumulate sunlight during the day and release it at night," Deheyn says, "Now imagine that you don't need sunlight, you just need to add iron, and these stickers can be used as portable bio lights in emergency situations, such as on helicopters or airplane tarmacs that may need lighting." ”
8) Bumblebees may know how old they are
Bumblebees, also known as bumblebees, are larger and more clumsy than common bees. However, this impression may not be accurate. One day this summer, Sridar Ravi, an engineer at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia, observed that bumblebees could move freely through branches and bushes. He was shocked that an organism with such a small brain could overcome these challenges.
When the notch is smaller than the bumblebee's wingspan, they stop and look around, then cross the notch sideways without damaging the wings
To test the bumblebee, Ravi's team set up a tunnel and a hive in the lab. They placed a narrow notch in the tunnel as an obstacle that became smaller and smaller over time. They found that when the notch was smaller than the bumblebee's wingspan, they would stop and look around, and then cross the gap sideways without damaging the wings. For bumblebees, they need to understand how big they are from different perspectives in order to accomplish this seemingly insignificant behavior, a capability that many insects don't have.
Sridar Lavi said that if bumblebees with small brains can handle this kind of problem, robots may not need too complex processors to better navigate. "Complex perception doesn't necessarily require a large, fine brain, but can also be achieved on a small scale with fewer neurons," he said. "By borrowing from the working patterns of bumblebee brains, researchers may be able to develop more agile robots with even higher flight or swimming abilities than they seem to be clumsy today." From passive detection to active perception, this enhancement will usher in a new era in robotics," Ravi said.
9. Mineral "armor" of exoskeletons of leafcutter ants
Li Hongjie, a researcher in the field of plant virology at Ningbo University, collaborated with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States to find that the exoskeleton of a Central American leafcutter ant has a thin layer of mineral "armor".
To further study the exoskeleton of leafcutter ants, this armor-like coating needs to be removed, but how? In an interview with Science News, Li Hongjie said he had an epiphany while brushing his teeth. Mouthwash removes substances from the teeth without damaging the cheeks, gums and tongue. His hunch was right, and the mouthwash dissolved the mineral coating, but did not damage the exoskeleton of the leafcutter ant. Through more traditional laboratory experiments, the team determined that the mineral coating consisted of calcite with a high magnesium content. In sea urchins, this mixture of calcite and magnesium allows their teeth to grind through the hard calcareous matter.
The researchers found that the mineral coating on the exoskeleton of this leafcutter ant is made of calcite, which is high in magnesium
Study authors Cameron Currie and Pupa Gilbert explain: "Incorporating magnesium into calcite can bring many benefits to any nanotechnology field involving calcite, such as plastics, adhesives, construction mortars and dental materials. "In addition, this mineral coating is not something that leafcutter ants are born with, but something they can quickly make when needed, and will increase in hardness as leafcutter ants mature, covering almost the whole body."
"Incredibly, this leafcutter ant is able to dramatically improve the strength of exoskeletons by rapidly forming a thin, lightweight nanocrystal coating," cameron Currie said, "which highlights the potential of this nanomaterial coating to improve body armor." ”
10, poor hearing of the moth but has a "sound insulation cloak"
It's not easy for a moth to dodge predators who rely on sound to search for prey. However, some moths have evolved amazing features to protect themselves from bats.
Earlier in 2020, researchers found that two inaudible moths, in addition to having villi capable of softening sound, also have very thin fork-like scale layers on their wings that can absorb the ultrasonic sound of bats. The wings of each moth are covered with thousands of such small scales, which are less than 1 millimeter long and only a few hundred microns thick. Each scale distorts the sound emitted by the wings, reducing the sound energy, thereby reducing the sound reflected back to the bat. The scales seem to resonate at different frequencies, and as a whole, they "can absorb at least 3 octaves of sound."
The moth's wings are covered with thousands of such small scales, each less than 1 millimeter long and only a few hundred microns thick
Study author Mark Haldred of the University of Bristol said: "These scales are highly structured at the nanoscale, with porous ripple layers at the top and bottom, interconnected by tiny columnar networks. He estimates that inspired by this structure, we may be able to develop sound insulation materials that "increase sound absorption efficiency by 10 times" in the future. He envisions a sound-absorbing wallpaper coated with nanoscale structures that can be attached to walls in homes and offices, replacing the giant panels now commonly used.
Holder also believes that this discovery will also have a wide range of applications in many industries. "We're really excited about the prospect of a wide range of applications for this material," he said, "and there are so many fields from construction to mechanics to traffic acoustic design that can draw on the solutions of these moths to develop thinner sound-absorbing materials." (Ren Tian)