Pimping Nature

4 June 2009
Biologically inspired, ultra-broadband chip could enable "cognitive" radio
A radio chip modeled on the human inner ear can efficiently process a broad spectrum of signals including cell phone, wireless Internet, radio and television; an achievement that could usher in what the developers call "cognitive" radio...

6 October 2008
Researchers get amped over artificial electric eel cells
Researchers say that by applying modern engineering design tools to one of the basic units of life, artificial cells could be built that not only replicate the electrical behavior of electric eel cells but in fact improve on them...

22 August 2008
Growing A Home With "Plantware"
A bus-stop that grows its own foliage as shade? A house built from living tree roots that provides natural protection against earthquakes? These concepts may be science fiction today, but Israeli scientists say that fully functional "plantware" may be only a decade away...

18 August 2008
Bio-Engineered Yeast Cranks Out Drugs
Chemical engineers at Caltech have used various plant genes to genetically modify common baker's yeast to produce large quantities of drugs, including antibiotics, nicotine, and even morphine...

24 July 2008
The Visual Cortex Goes Digital
A cognitive scientist is developing pictorial representations of digital circuits which he says can turn our eyes and visual cortex into a powerful, programmable digital computer...

20 May 2008
The Photonic Bug
Creating an ideal "photonic crystal" to manipulate visible light in optical computers may now be possible; thanks to a beetle from Brazil whose shimmering, iridescent green scales provide the ideal, diamond-like crystalline structure...

15 April 2008
Laser Used To Get Thundercloud Sparking
Using a powerful ground-based laser, European scientists were able to induce electrical activity in thunderclouds, a precursor to producing lightning strikes on demand...

7 April 2008
Computer Recognizes Attractiveness In Women
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but what if the beholder is a software program?

30 January 2008
Pimped Bacterium Churns Out Hydrogen
Deleting six genes in E. coli's DNA has transformed the bacterium into an extremely efficient hydrogen-producing factory that's powered by sugar...

18 January 2008
Flexible Electronics Melded With Contact Lens Creates Bionic Eye
Scientists have combined a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights...

12 November 2007
Evolutionary Algorithms Used To Design A Better Leaf
A computer model of a plant has been created that produces more leaves and fruit without needing extra fertilizer...

27 July 2007
Biologists Create Gene "Dimmer Switch"
A tunable genetic switch based on RNAi and repressor proteins can be used to turn on, shut off, or partially activate a gene's function...

30 May 2007
Cooking Up Memories
Experimental work from Israel has shown that it's possible to store multiple rudimentary memories in an artificial culture of live neurons...

4 May 2007
IBM Demos Self-Assembling Chip Turbocharger
Using self-assembling nanotechnology to create insulating vacuums, researchers have boosted signal throughput in computer chips by 35 percent...

1 May 2007
Synthetic Snot Enhances Artificial Nose
UK researchers have used artificial nasal mucus to significantly enhance the performance of an electronic "nose"...

20 February 2006
When Efficient Flight’s A Drag
If human engineers had designed the dragonfly’s method for flight they’d likely be inordinately proud. And one scientist thinks that dragonflies could point the way for the aircraft of the future...

15 December 2005
GM Tomatoes May Pave Way For Other Drought Resistant Crops
Consumers may still have lingering concerns about GM foods, but scientists are pushing ahead with new genetically modified plants that they say could revolutionize agriculture...

24 November 2005
GM Bacteria Creates Living Photographs
Using genetically engineered E. coli, students have successfully created the first-ever bacterial photographic paper...

31 October 2005
New Research Center Aims To Plagiarize Nature
Some of man’s most elegant technological developments have been inspired by Mother Nature, so it’s not surprising that a new research center has been established specifically to develop new technologies based on the natural world...

28 July 2005
Crop Diagnosis With Polarized Light
Indicators of plant health, usually invisible to the naked eye, can be made visible using polarized light. Real-time control of fertilizer application using this technology could save the agricultural industry billions and prevent algal blooms...

18 July 2005
Shark Skin Sloop
Covering ship hulls with artificial shark skin could help ships sail more smoothly by stopping pesky barnacles from attaching to the hull...

30 June 2006
Designed By Mother Nature
Developing a new technology from scratch is a complex and time consuming business, so wouldn't it be handy if scientists had a pre-existing blueprint at their disposal? As it happens, they do, and fortuitously it exists all around us: nature. And using nature as your template provides the added bonus of not having to worry about pesky patents. The science of copying nature, known as biomimetics, is not altogether new - think radar, Velcro and da Vinci's flying machines - but it is garnering increasing attention, with anything from the biomechanics of frog legs, to the sensing ability of rat's whiskers, being used as a basis for new inventions...

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