Scientific breakthroughs often follow a collective focus on an issue or problem. When a tipping point is reached, the combination of small solutions across sectors spurs a giant leap forward. Renewable energy development has been a growing focus of international research over the last 3-4 decades and advances in clean energy technology have coincided
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biomimicry
A recent study found that current solar technology is more efficient at transforming sunlight into energy than plants.
Biomimicry is basically the practice of observing processes in nature, and copying Mother Earth’s strategy for efficiency and waste reduction. In an interesting twist, however, an article published in the
The brain, in some ways, is simply the biological device that keeps a body running and the mind thinking. In that way it is like a computer. An international team of scientists has discovered striking similarities between the human brain, the nervous system of a worm, and a computer chip. The finding is reported in the journal PloS Computational Biology Monday.
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as jellyfish and starfish have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all.
Brains can be extremely complex. The cerebral cortex of the human brain contains roughly 15 to 33 billion neurons, perhaps more, depending on gender and age, linked with up to 10,000 synaptic connections each. Each cubic millimeter of cerebral cortex contains roughly one billion synapses.
Article by Amy Hengst appearing courtesy of Matter Network.
Termite mounds may look like ugly piles of dirt, but they provide important clues for architects designing energy-efficient buildings.
Termite mounds are built six to 30 feet high off the ground in hot ecosystems and are riddled with tunnels at their peaks that provide passive ventilation, allowing cool air to flow through. Architects in Zimbabwe have used the termites’ model in building a large, beautiful building with a similar ventilation system.
By imitating nature’s model, they were able to save 90 percent in energy costs because they didn’t need to install any air conditioning, according to designer Jeremy Faludi.
This process of emulating nature is called biomimicry. Speaking at the West Coast Green conference last week in San Francisco, Faludi said biomimicry could help us create products and buildings that are more material and energy-efficient, robust, flexible, and long-lasting.