Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
10.2 BIOMIMICRY
biochemistry, and from that, chemistry, and by
extension, physics. Modern biology thus has
become more accessible to practitioners in the
physical sciences and engineering. It is because
of this interaction that the field of biomimetics
has entered its adolescent growth spurt, as it
were. If we consider the work of Leonardo da
Vinci in developing his flying machines in the
late 1400s, we witness inspiration from nature.
Within the arcane knowledge base that is bio-
logical science, there is a veritable trove of
materials and processes that is only now begin-
ning to be tapped.
Finally, as regards biology, the natural world
has several intricate examples of systems engi-
neering if we look at it from the appropriate per-
spective. Germane to the present chapter, the
quintessential example of systems engineering in
biology is a spider's orb web. The system aspect
of these webs is apparent when one takes into
account the different properties of the various
silk fibers in the web. The mooring lines and the
radial framework are composed of the very
tough dragline silk; the flagelliform capture silk
spiral linking the radial members is more exten-
sible and still tough. This member allows the
web to absorb the kinetic energy of the flying
insect without breaking, while relying on the
dragline silk for support [10] .
10.2.1 Biology
We have argued the importance for having
an understanding of textiles to developing an
appreciation of biomimetic textiles, and so it is
with biology. Since my background is in poly-
mer and textile physics, my presentation of the
foundations of biology is consequently limited.
In trying to make sense out of what we see in
the world about us, we first classify things into
ordered categories so that we can have rational
discussions about what we see. In biology, this
exercise has reached a pinnacle of development,
and rightly so: The living world is intensely
complex, and one must have a name for what-
ever is being discussed. However, biological
classification schemes are only a part of scientific
taxonomy . A common example of a general tax-
onomy is of the processes in learning [8] . In fact,
the term taxonomy can simply refer to system-
atic knowledge organization. One use reflects
the biologist's penchant for the classification of
living organisms and is a hierarchical classifica-
tion of things or concepts in what may be con-
sidered a tree structure. A more recent usage of
the term is to refer to any controlled vocabulary
of terms for a subject area domain or a specific
purpose. The terms may or may not be arranged
in a hierarchy, and they may or may not have
even more complex relationships between each
other. Thus, taxonomy has taken on a broader
meaning that encompasses subject-specific glos-
saries and thesauri, controlled vocabularies, and
ontologies [9] . Biological classification is differ-
ent from some other classification systems
because the similarity between organisms placed
in the same class is not arbitrary but is instead a
result of shared descent from common ancestry;
that is, evolution determines the class.
With the advent of molecular biology, which
was heralded by the elucidation of the struc-
ture and function of DNA, the field of biology
was given a firm footing in the science of
10.2.2 Key Principles of Biomimicry
The key principle of biomimesis is to use the nat-
ural biological world as source of inspiration and
as a guide in the development of new materials.
Detailed study of systems and organisms within
natural systems, which may be used as models
in science and engineering of new materials, is
required. However, one must recognize that such
a study must focus on elucidation of the relation-
ships between structure and function in natural
systems in order to apply the fruit of such study
in engineering.
Biomimicry has experienced a rapid develop-
ment since Janine Benyus published her seminal
 
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