Five Inventions That Borrowed Ideas From Nature

When people talk about new technology, we usually imagine scientists inventing something that has never existed before. But sometimes the inspiration for a new invention has actually been around for millions of years. We just hadn't figured out how to copy it yet.

There's a whole field called biomimicry, which involves studying nature and using its designs, structures, or processes to solve human problems. Animals and plants have spent an incredibly long time adapting to their environments, so it makes sense that engineers might be able to learn something from them.

Here are five examples I found particularly interesting.

1. Velcro was inspired by burrs.

In the 1940s, Swiss engineer George de Mestral noticed that burrs kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur after walks. When he examined them under a microscope, he discovered tiny hooks that caught onto loops in fabric and hair. That observation eventually led to the invention of Velcro, which uses a similar hook-and-loop system. It's now used in everything from shoes and bags to medical equipment and aerospace applications.

I like this one because it's such a normal experience. Most people would just pull the burrs off and be annoyed. He decided to investigate why they were sticking.

2. A Japanese bullet train took inspiration from a kingfisher.

Early versions of Japan's high-speed Shinkansen trains experienced a problem when exiting tunnels: rapid pressure changes could create extremely loud noise. Engineer Eiji Nakatsu, who was also interested in birds, helped develop a redesigned train nose inspired by the shape of a kingfisher's beak. Kingfishers are able to dive from air into water with relatively little splash, and their streamlined shape offered useful ideas for reducing pressure changes and aerodynamic resistance.

The resulting design helped improve the train's efficiency and reduce noise.

3. Shark skin inspired new surface designs.

Sharks have tiny tooth-like structures on their skin called dermal denticles. These create textured surfaces that can influence how water flows around their bodies. Engineers have studied these structures to develop specialized coatings and surfaces intended to reduce drag or discourage organisms from attaching themselves. Some applications are still experimental, but the research has influenced designs in fields ranging from marine technology to sports equipment.

It turns out that making something perfectly smooth isn't always the best way to make it move efficiently through water.

4. Lotus leaves inspired self-cleaning materials.

Lotus leaves have an unusual ability to repel water. Their surfaces contain microscopic structures and a waxy coating that cause droplets to bead up and roll away, often collecting dirt particles as they move. Scientists call this the lotus effect, and it has inspired the development of water-repellent coatings, glass, textiles, and other materials.

The idea of a surface that can help clean itself is particularly interesting for buildings, where maintaining large exterior surfaces can require significant amounts of water and cleaning products.

5. Termite mounds inspired building ventilation research.

Certain termite species build enormous mounds with complex internal structures that help regulate the environment inside. Architects and engineers have studied how these systems exchange air and manage heat, looking for ways to apply similar principles to buildings. The Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe is often discussed as an example of architecture influenced by termite mounds and passive climate control, although the actual relationship between termite biology and the building's design is more complicated than some popular explanations suggest.

The broader idea is still fascinating: instead of relying entirely on mechanical cooling, could buildings use their shape and airflow more intelligently?

What I find interesting about all five examples is that none of them started with someone trying to reinvent nature. They started with somebody noticing something unusual and asking how it worked. Nature doesn't always provide a perfect solution that humans can copy directly, and engineers still have to test whether these ideas work in completely different conditions. But it's a pretty incredible source of inspiration. Especially when you consider how many species and natural systems we still don't fully understand.

There are probably designs all around us that could solve problems we haven't even thought of yet. We just have to figure out what we're looking at.