Guardian: Gecko-mussel glue, fossil fly-eye tips for solar voltaics, and more Biomimicry

Published: July 31, 2007, 12:09 pm

The Tracker often mentions he is a sucker for biomimicry. Its unmistakable lesson is that mindless random resorting of genes plus selective pressure is a better inventor, in many ways, than is the logic of the conscious mind (even when propelled by the subconscious’s marvels of free-association). Kate Ravilious has in The Guardian Unlimited (UK) a zippy freelance roundup on some of the tips that nature has provided to engineers recently. One wonders why genetic algorithms and other evolutionary computing systems aren’t in wider application for providing efficient, robust systems up with which no Edison could ever think. (Nod to W. Churchill). -CP Grist for the Mill: Northwestern U. Press Release (source of pic, perhaps inspiration for the broader story).

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