Ten Scientific Discoveries From 2020 That May Lead to New Inventions

Photo caption: The fish’s “sucking disc” isn’t actually sticking up against the whale’s skin either, instead it hovers just above. (Credit: Stanford University & Cascadia Research Collective). Article by Rachael Lallensack. Smithsonian Magazine – December 28, 2020.

From soaring snakes to surfing suckerfish, nature is an endless source of inspiration

Many new inventions and technologies derive inspiration from nature. The practice of modeling artificial products after biological processes is called biomimicry or biomimetics. Janine Benyus, co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute, popularized the term in her 1997 book, Biomimicry. “Biomimicry,” she wrote, “is basically taking a design challenge and then finding an ecosystem that’s already solved that challenge, and literally trying to emulate what you learn.” […]

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