Category Archives: separating
Harvest gold out of plants – Phytomining
The technique of phytomining involves growing a crop of a metal-
hyperaccumulating plant species, harvesting the
biomass and burning it to produce a bio-ore. In the first phytomining experiment, it was found that a yield of 100 kg/ha of sulphur-free Ni could be produced.
Technical application:
human eye as a model for better wiping systems
Engineer and inventor Robert Kearns (1929-2005) lived in Detroit, a region surrounded by the auto industry. One misty, rainy day he drove his Ford Galaxie across town. He was irritated by the constant scraping and vibration of the windshield wipers on the semi-dry windshield. At this time, most wipers had just two settings, one for normal rain and the other for a heavy downpour. Kearns also had only one good eye, and the constant smearing motion of the wipers did not help his vision or driving concentration. What happened next is what the Wall Street Journal calls “the kind of inspiration that separates inventors from ordinary people.” Kearn simply asked himself whether windshield wipers could mimic the blinking of our eyes.
Technical application:
windshield wipers
Continue reading human eye as a model for better wiping systems
eye-lens camera contact lens and monitoring your body for health purposes
First watch the video below!
Cameras have long mimicked the optics of the eye. Both collect and focus light with a convex outer lens. However, cameras have a shortcoming: They typically focus the image onto a flat surface. Whether this surface is covered with film or a digital sensor, distortion results from the projecting of light from a curved lens onto the flat 
surface. The insertion of additional lenses reduces the distortion, but this adds to camera weight and cost. Our eye with its hemispherical shape has no such problem.
Technical application:
better optical technologies, contact lens
Continue reading eye-lens camera contact lens and monitoring your body for health purposes
Intestine – Fuel Tank
This is an unusual example of practical designs found in nature. Automobiles have several new options for fuel including batteries, hydrogen gas, and natural gas. Natural gas is especially attractive because it is in good supply in the U.S., and emits only half the carbon dioxide of conventional fossil fuel. However, one challenge is to carry enough natural gas on board the vehicle for practical driving. Large, high pressure cylinders are expensive, bulky, and somewhat hazardous.
Technical application:
our brain inspires for supercomputers
Computers have come a long way but they still primitive compared with our own brainpower. Our brains can handle much more information and processing than any supercomputer yet developed. The brain is so far superior to current 
computers that scientists seek ways to mimic its “wiring” in modern computers.
Technical application:
supercomputing
Dog inspired drying machines
Perhaps you have stood near a wet dog as it dries by shaking its fur. Watch out! An impressive amount of water is thrown off in all directions. The shaking technique for furry creatures including mice, dogs, and bears is studied by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. They find that larger animals tend to move their bodies at a frequency of 4-5 shakes per second. Mice and rats move more rapidly, up to 27 shakes per second. Whatever the size, each creature begins the shaking process with its head and then the process moves along the body. Mathematical formulas have been established for the animal shaking process based on size, nature of the fur, water surface tension, and other variables. The animals apparently know these technical details by instinct.
Technical application:
drying machines
leaf-solar collector; make your own hydrogen
Solar energy is a popular topic today, and plants provide us with ideas for efficient collection of sunshine energy. During photosynthesis, sunlight converts carbon dioxide into water and sugars which nourish the plant. Worldwide, the daily rate 
of solar energy absorption by vegetation is six times greater than the output of all the world’s power plants.
Technical application:
produce energy (e.g. hydrogen)
Continue reading leaf-solar collector; make your own hydrogen
inspired by a tree: bypassing problems will make complex systems more fail-safe
Look closely at many tree and plant leaves and you will see an intricate network of veins. Besides the channels branching outward from a central stem, you may also notice many smaller veins in random directions, connecting with each other in closed loops. This complex arrangement is unlike the simple outward geometry of tree branches and root systems. The structure provides protection for the leaf. Suppose there is damage from disease, insects, or wind so that a vein is broken. Nutrients and water can then take alternate paths across the leaf through adjacent veins. Even the larger, central vein of the leaf can be successfully bypassed. The multiple veins also allow for fluctuations in nutrient loads due to moisture and temperature changes. Similar loop network designs are observed in coral colonies, insect wings, and the blood vessels of our eye.
Technical application:
create safe complex systems
Continue reading inspired by a tree: bypassing problems will make complex systems more fail-safe
sugar for Vaccines conservation
Nova’s stabilisation platforms are based on a sugar-glass stabilization concept. The inspiration for this technology arose from observations of anhydrobiotic organisms, such as the Resurrection Plant (Selaginella lepidophylla), which can protect themselves from extreme desiccation. Such organisms survive in drought conditions by producing high concentrations of particular sugars in their tissues. These sugars solidify as a glass during dehydration, preserving the cells and tissues in a state of suspended animation. When water is once again available the glass dissolves away, allowing normal biological functions to resume.
Technical application:
vaccines conservation