4. Six Ways Nature is Inspiring Human Engineering

The article begins by defining "biometics," or the imitation of nature for human purposes. Engineers around the workd have been working on machines that imitate nature as a means of making them better at what they're supposed to do. Six examples of such strategies are listed in this article. First, there is a design for bulletproof vests made from spider silk, whose properties make it proportionately stronger than steel yet very flexible. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, in Michigan, is currently working to develop products of this material. Next is an idea inspired by the way the outer layer of prunes wrinkles as the fruit dries inside. MIT researchers are testing a prototype Smart Morphable Surface, which can change a device's aerodynamics on command. Over in Switzerland, researchers are studying the eyes of moths, which, being nocturnal, are disgbed to absorb as much light as possible. They believe they can apply these properties to increase the effectiveness of solar panels.
Georgia Tech is involved in two such projects (mentioned in the article, at least), the first of which involves ants that form rafts by linking their legs together and using smaller ants to plug any holes and preventing leaks. This technique can be applied to robots that group together to form rafts, bridges, or other useful structures on the go. The other project mentioned Georgia Tech is working on has to do with how animals utilize gravity for urination. The basic engineering idea behind this is that animals don't waste their own energy (in,say, muscle contractions) for such processes as urination, so perhaps man-made machines could use gravity as a means of making less wasteful water tanks or the like. Finally, a Japanese engineer fixed a noise and aerodynamics problem found in their bullet train by designing the nose of the train like the kingfisher's beak, whose shape allows it to enter the water with "barely a ripple." All these advances and more are made possible through the careful observation and application of the physical principles we see in nature.

The author of this piece, Nancy Pardo was impressive in how well she transmitted the technical aspects of each invention. She made her statements concise and to the point. Anyone who read this piece would be able to grasp the concept behind each biomimetic system mentioned, while still being awed at the marvels of engineering on the rise. Since she mentions six different technologies, good transitions are key for making the article flow smoothly from point to point. However, the structure of the article itself, written in a numbered paragraph fashion, makes it so that transitions are not something the author focuses on. Unfortunately the article loses its continuity from time to time. One strategy that Pardo makes use of is the hypophora, answering one's own questions. This strategy does a good job of steering the reader into the same train of thought as the writer, clarifying the overall message of the article, which is that nature and future technologies can and will always be connected for the betterment of society.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ptc/2014/08/07/6-ways-nature-is-inspiring-human-engineering/?sr_source=lift_polar