Many of humanity’s innovations have taken inspiration from the natural world.
Alessandro De Maddalena/Shutterstock
Humans often look to nature for the solutions to complex problems – here are five times where biological processes have inspired innovation.
Male pileated woodpecker.
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Pecking holes in a solid wood tree trunk would give you a headache, if not serious brain damage. What special assets allow a woodpecker to do it?
Do you know this downy woodpecker?
Lewis Barnett
By looking closely at traits like wing feathers and spot patterns, a computer scientist trained an algorithm to recognize individual woodpeckers.