biomimicry Archives

November 10, 2025November 9, 2025

Human Hibernation Research

One of the most fascinating aspects of the natural world is how different animals survive the winter. Hibernation allows various animals to enter a state for weeks or even months in which their body functions slow down, and they return to normal when warm weather arrives. Researchers in medical science are exploring ways to induce human hibernation. Besides enabling long space journeys, it could also be very useful in treating heart attacks and strokes.

Among the animals being studied are Arctic ground squirrels and grizzly bears. Arctic ground squirrels have a body temperature of 99 degrees F (37 °C) from April to October. From October to April, their body temperature drops to 27 degrees F (-3 °C), and their heart rate can drop as low as one beat per minute. A hibernating brown bear doesn’t experience such drastic temperature changes. The bear’s temperature drops to around 90 degrees and stays at that level from November to March, then rises back to summer levels. The bear undergoes a 5-month period of torpor that conserves energy and supports normal functions. For female bears, this includes giving birth and nursing cubs.

The effectiveness of these and other hibernation strategies is clear. Small animals like squirrels can’t store enough body fat to survive the winter, but bears can accumulate enough fat to sustain them for five months. Bears lose this weight so that when they emerge from the den at the end of winter, they are very lean and very hungry.

Medical scientists are investigating how to induce human hibernation because it could extend the window for critical care of stroke and heart attack patients. The research focuses on how humans might benefit from changes in body temperature to fight various diseases. Like everything else, we aim to develop medical treatments by learning from what God has already created.

References: nationalgeographic.com and wikipedia

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025

Shark-Skin Biomimicry

Human engineers often draw inspiration from the natural world. When they adapt these designs for human use, it’s called biomimicry. Shark-skin biomimicry utilizes the design principles that enable sharks to move smoothly and quickly through water, applying them for industrial and practical purposes.

In addition to its body shape, a shark’s ability to swim swiftly and quietly through the water is largely due to the design of their skin. Shark skin has a textured pattern, known as riblets, that helps reduce water drag. Researchers at U.C. Berkeley and MIT explored ways to adapt this shark skin design to reduce the water’s drag on towed sonar arrays (TSAs) used by ships and submarines. They discovered that rectangular riblets could cut drag by 5% or more and reduce noise by 14%. Noise reduction is very important for sonar, which depends on detecting sound echoes. Less noise also benefits marine wildlife.

Another application of shark-skin design is in water distribution systems. Biomimetic riblets inside water pipes can lessen turbulence as water flows through. Reducing turbulence and drag decreases the energy needed to pump water to its destination. This means lower costs for supplying water to homes. Researchers found that, under ideal conditions, drag can be cut by up to 10%.

According to another study, shark-skin biomimicry can also improve the efficiency of microchannel heat sinks. Microelectronic components in computers and other devices can be damaged by heat. The researchers reported that “the shark-skin based bionic structure had higher heat transfer capacity and lower friction loss.”

Looking at nature’s designs reveals wisdom at work. Shark-skin biomimicry offers benefits in aviation, marine transportation, water systems, and the cooling of microelectronics. What other new applications of biomimicry are still to be discovered? God’s wisdom shows in what He has made. Humans have no excuse for failing to recognize His eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20).

References: sciencedirect.com HERE and HERE, and popsci.com

Some other examples of biomimicry: Salvinia, Kingfishers, Harriers, Cacti, Beetles, Sponges, Cicada Wings

May 6, 2025May 5, 2025

Harrier Design

The name “harrier” comes from a word that means to pillage or rob. So why are several species of hawks known as harriers? The northern harrier (Circus hudsonius) is a hawk species with a harrier design.

Northern harriers breed in Canada and the northern United States and migrate to Mexico and Central America during the winter. Their ability to “pillage or rob” comes from their long wings and tails, allowing them to fly slowly and quietly close to the ground to snatch their unsuspecting prey. They have the longest wing and tail length relative to the body size of any North American bird of prey (raptor).

Northern harriers hold their long wings in a “V” shape as they closely circle the contours of the land, ready to capture small mammals such as mice, rats, ground squirrels, and voles. Sometimes, they catch frogs or small birds. They have excellent hearing and use that to locate their prey. Farmers sometimes call these birds “good hawks” because they eliminate rodents that destroy crops and don’t bother poultry as other hawks do.

You can see the “V” shape of the wings of a harrier hawk on harrier aircraft, which were designed for short/vertical take-off and landing. A good design deserves to be imitated, and this is another example of many of God’s designs that humans have copied to create useful tools. In the harrier design, we see the work of the Master Designer.

April 26, 2020April 26, 2020

Biomimicry Solves a High-Speed Train Problem

Japan has been a world leader in the development and implementation of high-speed trains. More than 10 billion Japanese passengers are transported by rail each year, and those trains keep the population highly mobile. However, biomimicry solves a high-speed train problem.

One of the major difficulties with the high-speed rail system was that the trains had a bullet-shaped nose. That design compressed the air creating a severe shock wave every time the train went through a tunnel. This “sonic boom” was especially bad in cities, and because Japan is densely populated, the sonic shock waves were a real problem.

The chief engineer for the West Japan Railway Company named Eiji Nakatsu also happened to have birding as a hobby. He was trying to solve the sonic boom issue when he saw a kingfisher dive into the water from a high elevation without even making a splash. He was also aware that owl feathers have the unique ability to absorb sound so an owl can dive quietly on its prey.

Nakatsu and his fellow engineers took the examples that birds offered and built the front of their trains with the equivalent of a kingfisher bill. They also installed a quieter pantograph design based on owl’s wings. (The pantograph is the device mounted on top of an electric train to collect the power from an overhead cable.) in 1997, trains using those designs went into service, and the tunnel problem and noise issue were resolved.

It is called biomimicry when human designers copy something they see in nature to solve a technical problem. There are many examples of biomimicry from velcro to binding straps. God thought of it first, and humans have merely learned to copy God’s design. That’s how biomimicry solves a high-speed train problem.

Reference: Smithsonian magazine, September 2012, pages 52-53.