Biology – Parrot Fish

Darrell Mann

Viewers of Blue Planet 2 were treated to the spectacle of parrotfish eating stony coral, only for it to emerge the other end as sand. Through this process, a single parrotfish can produce around 400 kilograms of sand … Read More

Biology – Hummingbird

Darrell Mann

The sight of a tiny hummingbird hovering in front of a flower and then darting to another with lightning speed amazes and delights. But it also leaves watchers with a persistent question: How do they do it?

Now, … Read More

Biology – Jewel Wasp

Darrell Mann

Female parastic wasp injects venom in fly pupa host

Amid the incredible diversity of living things on our planet, there is a common theme. Organisms need to acquire new genes, or change the functions of existing … Read More

Biology – Cuckoo Eggs

Darrell Mann

The main attribute of the cuckoo is that it lays its eggs in other birds’ nests in order that other birds raise their offspring for them. We’ve mentioned this story in Issue 147 of the ezine. What we … Read More

Biology – Fox Squirrel

Darrell Mann

Fox squirrels are a lot more organized than we thought—storing their stashes of nuts by variety, quality, and possibly even by preference.

A new study is the first to show evidence that squirrels arrange their bounty—at least 3,000 … Read More

Biology – Electric Eel

Darrell Mann

From Nature last month, an article describing scientists’ search for safer, more natural ways to power devices that go into our bodies. Sticking toxic battery elements inside the body, and having to periodically replace them with invasive surgery … Read More

Biology – Lobarina scrobiculata

Darrell Mann

The Lobaria scrobiculata lichen is unique. Unlike the majority of lichen with green microalgae, which use environmental humidity to activate their photosynthesis, this species requires liquid water in symbiosis to activate the cyanobacteria living in it. This makes … Read More

Biology – Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae)

Darrell Mann

Sunlight reflected by solar cells is lost as unused energy. The wings of the butterfly Pachliopta aristolochiae are drilled by nanostructures (nanoholes) that help absorbing light over a wide spectrum far better than smooth surfaces. Researchers of Karlsruhe … Read More

Student’s Corner #8 – Bionics: Applications Of Biology’s Ideas In Technique

Edited by Mrs. Leora C. Slocum (leora@slocumfamily.org)

On our previous Student’s Corners, we have already discovered several applications of biological effects, such as corrugation and the honeycomb, which increase the effectiveness of technology. Over time, scientists have developed the … Read More

Adaptive evolution in biology and technology: Why are parallels expected?

By: Peter Kaplan

University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology Ann Arbor, MI 48109 pefty@aya.yale.edu

Introduction Since the beginnings of technology, inventors have sought to draw parallels between biological and technological designs. Among the flurry of such studies appearing in the … Read More

Integrating Knowledge From Biology Into The TRIZ Framework

Darrell Mann Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Bath Bath, BA2 7AY, UK Phone: +44 (1225) 826465 Fax: +44 (1225) 826928 E-mail: D.L.Mann@bath.ac.uk

“During WW1, the (Soviet) Navy started using hydrophones to listen and … Read More

TRIZ in Biology Teaching

Julian FV Vincent, Centre for Biomimetics, The University of Reading, UK j.f.v.vincent@reading.ac.uk Darrell Mann, Industrial Fellow, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK, Phone: +44 (1225) 826465, Fax: +44 (1225) 826928 D.L.Mann@bath.ac.uk

Introduction

As an initial … Read More