Borrowing from Nature's best ideas

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk From super-advanced glue to shimmering lipstick, the simplest living things are providing the inspiration for futuristic materials Gecko clinging to mussel shell Forty-five million years ago an unfortunate fly got stuck in some tree sap and met a sticky end. Today the same fly is responsible for increasing energy efficiency in solar cells. By studying the fly's eye, scientists have developed a new kind of light-capturing material. Meanwhile, over in Namibia, an unwitting desert beetle is helping farmers to irrigate their fields and airports to clear their runways of fog. When a fog rolls in across the Namib desert the beetle does a handstand and collects fog droplets on its specially adapted shell. The droplets dribble down into the beetle's mouth, providing it with a well-earned drink. By studying the structure of the beetle's shell scientists have developed a synthetic material that is also capable of mopping up fog. Geckel Butterfly blusher Fossil power Putting viruses to good use