What are some examples of humans using biology as a "teacher"?

1。 A very strange small gas analyzer was successfully copied from annoying flies. It has been installed in the cockpit of the spacecraft to detect the composition of the gas in the cabin.

2。 From fireflies to artificial luminescence;

3。 Electric fish and volt batteries;

4。 The windward ear of jellyfish imitates the structure and function of jellyfish ear, and designs a storm predictor of jellyfish ear, which can predict the storm 15 hours in advance, which is of great significance to navigation and fishery safety.

5。 According to the visual principle of frog eye, people have successfully developed an electronic frog eye. This kind of electronic frog's eyes can accurately identify objects with specific shapes like real frog's eyes. After installing electronic frog eyes in radar system, the anti-jamming ability of radar is greatly improved. This radar system can quickly and accurately identify aircraft, ships and missiles with specific shapes. In particular, it can distinguish between true and false missiles and prevent false confusion.

Electronic frog eyes are also widely used in airports and traffic arteries. At the airport, it can monitor the take-off and landing of aircraft, and call the police in time if it is found that the aircraft is about to collide. On the main road, you can direct the vehicles to prevent them from colliding.

6。 According to the principle of bat ultrasonic locator, people also copied "Pathfinder" for the blind. This pathfinder is equipped with an ultrasonic transmitter, which blind people can use to find telephone poles, steps, people on bridges, etc. Nowadays, "ultrasonic glasses" with similar functions have also been made.

7。 By simulating the incomplete photosynthetic mechanism of cyanobacteria, a bionic photolysis device was designed to obtain a large amount of hydrogen.

8。 According to the study of human skeletal muscle system and bioelectricity control, a human strength enhancer-walking machine is copied.

9。 The hook of modern crane originated from the claws of many animals.

10。 Corrugated roofs imitate animal scales.

1 1。 Paddles imitate the fins of fish.

12。 Saw mantis arms, or saw grass.

13。 The plants of Xanthium were inspired to invent velcro.

14。 Lobster with keen sense of smell provides people with the idea of making odor detectors.

15。 Gecko toes provide an encouraging prospect for manufacturing reusable adhesive tape.

16。 The colloid formed by shellfish and protein is very strong, and this colloid can be used in everything from surgical suture to ship repair. Ice worms are called the only frozen creatures on the earth, and they have the characteristics of alien life that scientists ideal. Scientists believe that the rare cold-resistant physique of ice worms can prove that there may be cold-resistant organisms similar to ice worms on other planets. They walk freely in the ice, live actively in the polar low temperature, and turn into a sticky mass when the temperature rises slightly. The Seattle Times reported on February 2 1 Sunday that American biologists, together with NASA and National Geographic magazine, will invest huge sums of money to study polar ice insects, hoping to take a big step in the journey of exploring alien life.

Polar ice insects are one of the few creatures active in polar low temperature. They are called the largest invertebrates and the most active creatures in frozen soil by biologists. Polar ice insects live in glaciers with snow all year round. They can be found in glaciers near the polar regions of Alaska, British Columbia and Oregon. They are very small, just like a thin black line in the snow.

They are probably the least afraid of cold in the world. In the biting cold temperature in the glacier area, other animals are almost frozen into popsicles, and even the cells are "giggling" with cold. However, this low temperature is the most comfortable living environment for polar ice insects. Scientists have found that the cell membrane and enzyme metabolism of ice worms are normal at low temperature, and the cell membrane maintains its inherent elasticity.

Ice worms are not only frost-resistant, but also hungry. Scientists once put several ice worms in the refrigerator to study. Two years later, ice worms who don't eat or drink still live tenaciously in the freezer.

But ice worms also have a fatal disadvantage-fear of heat. The ability of ice worms to resist high temperature is extremely fragile. As long as the temperature is higher than four degrees Celsius, the cell membrane of ice worms will melt, and the enzymes in the cells will become a pile of sticky substances like hay.

Mystery of breaking ice: Is there a way to break ice?

Among the many mysteries surrounding ice insects, the most incredible thing is that ice insects can walk freely in solid ice. No one knows how they broke through the ice.

Some scientists say that ice insects may drill out of the ice along the cracks in the ice; It is also speculated that ice worms have the ability to break ice. Many biologists suspect that ice insects may contain deicing substances. Every time they walk through the ice, the cells in the body will release energy, melt the surrounding ice and form a channel, just like "cutting butter with a hot knife".

An expert on snow animals said that among many snow fleas, snow nematodes and snow spiders, ice worms are the most magical animals. The polar bear's thick fur insulates it from the outside low temperature, and it can store energy by itself. Antarctic cod has antifreeze in its blood, which makes it live as usual in the ice and snow. However, what do naked tiny ice bugs rely on to keep warm or even wear ice? Biologist Putzel said, "When the temperature drops, ice insects will immediately generate energy. It's like filling the tank with gasoline. "

Hidden Mystery: Extinction in Winter?

The ice worm's lifestyle is also full of mystery. They always live in the glacier area with snow all year round, and their whereabouts are secret. In summer, large ice bugs will break through the ice and look for food. According to researchers looking for ice bugs, tens of thousands of ice bugs may be trampled to death if they are not careful.

Ice bugs come out at sunset and rest at sunrise. In summer, before the sun rises, ice worms will hide back on the ice. When the sun goes down, ice worms come out of their caves, looking for seaweed, pollen and other digestible residues as food. So their scientific name is "solifugus", which means avoiding the sun.

In winter, most ice insect gathering places are closed by heavy snow. Without seaweed or other food, they are hidden underground. But so far, no one knows how ice worms spend the winter underground. Ice worms seem to disappear in winter. Scientists suspect that they hibernate under the snow. Recently, however, researchers found that if you dig deep enough, you may see ice worms in winter. Two biologists in the United States repeatedly dug ice worms in the snow-covered Renik Mountain. All the ice worms they have found so far are hidden in underground holes below 3 meters.

Uncover the mystery: it is possible to find extraterrestrial life

Ice worms are called the only frozen creatures on the earth, and they have the characteristics of alien life that scientists want. Scientists believe that the rare cold-resistant physique of ice worms can prove that there may be cold-resistant organisms similar to ice worms on other planets.

In 2005, NASA invested $200,000 to support the research project of ice insects. NASA believes that ice worms can survive in such a harsh environment, which proves that Jupiter's ice hockey or other planets may have similar alien creatures.

National Geographic magazine also noticed ice worms and funded researchers to find them. National Geographic magazine believes that the value of ice worms in organ transplantation is far more realistic than the alien life it represents. Ice worm cells can maintain normal metabolism at low temperature. However, transplanted organs consume energy and shrink rapidly during refrigeration. If we can reveal the secret of ice worm metabolism, doctors can use chemicals and drugs to preserve organs for a longer period of time.

1887, Curtis, a famous photographer in Seattle, USA, first discovered the ice worm and named it "Snow Eel". But few people pay attention to it. In recent years, global warming has made polar animals on the verge of extinction, and ice worms have gradually entered the researchers' field of vision. Ben Lee, a biology graduate student at a university in Washington, USA, chose ice worms as the topic of his graduation thesis. Li said: "Ice worms are very hot now, and the research on them is almost blank, but they are wonderful."

interconnection

"Ice Bug" in Literati's Eyes

The literati's imagination is really rich. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, ice worms appeared in writers' brush strokes, and can also be seen in some books and poems. This bug, which is less than 5 cm long and lives under thick ice and snow, has long been a witness of love and life in the eyes of the poet.

The writer Robert Seves mentioned this magical bug many times in his works. In particular, the famous sentence "Trace of 98" in a novel: "In that light blue land, in the snowy day, I am in the infinity of the earth; Polar bears are singing and dancing in the light and shadow of the polar plain; Ah, you are my heart, my life and my soul; I'll see you when polar ice worms return to their nests. "

And Ben Lee is not only looking for and studying the ice worm itself, but also aiming at reciting the 140 poem "Blue Snow Mountain:

When everything becomes clear, you approach shyly and wait and see. The bugs are crowded together, and their noses are blue. In order to prolong life, they look for all the nutrients. They gnawed at each other's tails until they survived tenaciously.

Being so loved by poets may be because they can still survive in such a harsh environment. However, in the next 50 years, due to global warming, the ice and snow on which they depend will gradually disappear. By then, ice worms will also become extinct animals, and human beings may only sigh their magic in poetry! Modern radar-a radio positioning and ranging device: Scientists have found that bats rely not on eyes, but on an echo positioning system consisting of mouth, throat and ears. Because bats emit ultrasonic waves when flying, they can also detect ultrasonic waves reflected by obstacles. Based on this, scientists have designed a modern radar-a radio positioning and ranging device.

By studying the tiny swimming resistance of dolphins, scientists invented artificial dolphin skin which can improve the speed of torpedoes. And a wheeled vehicle (jumping machine) that imitates kangaroo's movement in the desert.

Inspired by penguins, scientists from the Institute of Zoology of the former Soviet Academy of Sciences designed a new type of car-Penguin brand polar off-road vehicle. The wide bottom of this car is directly attached to the snow surface and supported by a wheel spoon, and the driving speed can reach 50 km/h.

Scientists make space robots by imitating insects.

A research team of Australian National University has developed a small navigation and flight control device by studying several insects. This device can be used to equip small aircraft for Mars exploration.

Inspired by bionics, British scientists are developing a new submarine, which can swim in an S shape by swinging its tail fin. The main innovation is the use of a device called "trunk actuator". "Elephant trunk" consists of a group of thin and soft hoses, which imitate muscle activity and promote fin movement. This new submarine can be used as an underwater mine-clearing submarine to deal with mines that will detonate at the slightest sound or interference.

Nasty flies seem to have nothing to do with the grand space cause, but bionics closely connects them.

Flies are notorious "smelly things". They can be seen everywhere and have a bad smell. Flies have a particularly sensitive sense of smell, and can smell the smell thousands of meters away. But flies don't have noses. What does it rely on to act as a sense of smell? It turns out that the "nose" of flies-olfactory receptors are distributed on a pair of antennae on the head.

Each "nose" has only one "nostril" communicating with the outside world, which contains hundreds of olfactory nerve cells. If the smell enters the nostrils, these nerves will immediately convert the smell stimulus into nerve electrical impulses and send them to the brain. The brain can distinguish substances with different smells according to different nerve electrical impulses generated by substances with different smells. Therefore, the fly's antenna is like a sensitive gas analyzer.

Inspired by this, bionics successfully imitated a very strange small gas analyzer according to the structure and function of the olfactory organs of flies. The probe of this instrument is not metal, but a live fly. A very fine microelectrode is inserted into the olfactory nerve of the fly, and the guided neuroelectric signal is amplified by an electronic circuit and sent to an analyzer; The analyzer can give an alarm as soon as it finds the signal of odorous substances. This instrument has been installed in the cockpit of the spacecraft to detect the composition of the gas in the cabin.

This small gas analyzer can also measure harmful gases in submarines and mines. This principle can also be used to improve the input device of computer and the structural principle of gas chromatography analyzer.

From Fireflies to Artificial Luminescence

Since the invention of electric light, life has become more convenient and rich. But electric lamps can only convert a small part of electric energy into visible light, and most of the rest is wasted in the form of heat energy. The heat rays of electric lamps are harmful to people's eyes. So, is there a light source that only emits light without heating? Humans have turned their attention to nature again.

In nature, many creatures can emit light, such as bacteria, fungi, worms, mollusks, crustaceans, insects and fish, and the light emitted by these animals does not produce heat, so it is also called "cold light".

Fireflies are one of many luminous animals. There are about 65,438+0,500 species of fireflies. Their luminescent colors are yellow-green, orange, and their brightness is different. Fireflies emit cold light, which not only has high luminous efficiency, but also is generally soft, suitable for human eyes, and the light intensity is relatively high. Therefore, bioluminescence is an ideal light source for human beings.

Scientists found that the luminous device of fireflies is located in the abdomen. This light emitter consists of three parts: light emitting layer, transparent layer and reflecting layer. There are thousands of luminescent cells in the luminescent layer, all of which contain fluorescein and luciferase. Under the action of luciferase, fluorescein combines with oxidation to emit fluorescence with the participation of intracellular water. The luminescence of fireflies is essentially a process in which chemical energy is converted into light energy.

As early as the 1940s, people created fluorescent lamps on the basis of the study of fireflies, which greatly changed the lighting sources of human beings. In recent years, scientists first isolated pure fluorescein from fireflies, then isolated luciferase, and then synthesized fluorescein artificially by chemical methods. Biological light source composed of fluorescein, luciferase, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and water can be used as a flash lamp in mines filled with explosive gas. Because this lamp has no power supply and does not produce magnetic field, it can be used to clear magnetic mines under the irradiation of biological light source.

Now, people can get cold light similar to biological light by mixing some chemicals for safe lighting.

Electric fish and volt battery

Many creatures in nature can generate electricity, and there are more than 500 kinds of fish alone. People call these discharging fish "electric fish".

All kinds of electric fish have different discharge skills. Electric ray, electric catfish and electric eel have the strongest discharge ability. Medium-sized torpedoes can generate about 70 volts, while African torpedoes can generate up to 220 volts; African electric catfish can generate 350 volts; Electric eels can generate 500 volts. There is a South American electric eel that can generate up to 880 volts, and it is called the champion of electric shock. It is said that it can kill big animals like horses.

Where is the mystery of electric fish discharge? After the anatomical study of the electric fish, it is finally found that there is a strange power generation organ in the electric fish. These generators are made up of many translucent disk-shaped batteries, called electric plates or plates. Due to the different types of electric fish, the shape, position and quantity of the electric plates of the generator are also different. The generator of electric eel is prismatic and located in the muscles on both sides of the caudate spine. The torpedo generator is shaped like a flat kidney, arranged on both sides of the body midline, with 2 million electric plates. The generator of electric catfish originated from some kind of gland, located between skin and muscle, with about 5 million electric plates. The voltage generated by a single plate is very weak, but because there are many plates, the voltage generated is very large.

The extraordinary skills of electric fish have aroused great interest. /kloc-at the beginning of 0/9th century, Italian physicist Volt designed the world's earliest voltaic battery based on electric fish power generation organ. Because this kind of battery is designed according to the natural generator of electric fish, the research of electric fish called "artificial electric officer" also gives people such enlightenment: if the power generation organ of electric fish can be successfully imitated, then the power problem of ships and submarines can be solved well.

Jellyfish windward ears

"Swallows fly low before the rain, cicadas sing, and the sky clears up in the rain." Biological behavior is related to the change of weather. Fishermen along the coast know that fish and jellyfish living along the coast swim to the sea in batches, which indicates that a storm is coming.

Jellyfish, also known as jellyfish, is an ancient coelenterate that floated in the ocean as early as 500 million years ago. This lower animal has the instinct to predict storms, and every time before the storm warning, it will swim to the sea to take refuge.

Bionics gives an example of 15: