Human engineers continue to look at living organisms to help solve problems we encounter in our own technology. Often, the life on planet Earth demonstrates more ingenious solutions than the thoughts … more

Someone in an uncomfortable situation is often referred to as “a fish out of water.” Conversely, people who swim well are referred to as fish. Either way, almost all land animals struggle … more

On Monday I wrote about recent discoveries that reveal the critical importance of the ongoing production of sand in compensating for the Sun’s increasing luminosity and, thus, helping to … more

Like the air we breathe, sand is taken for granted yet it is life-essential. It is everywhere and abundant. There are about as many grains of sand on Earth as there are stars in the universe.

Sand … more

In my youth I would frequently backpack to remote mountains. For a trip lasting only two days I would pack just a tarp and some twine. For a trip lasting more than a week I needed a tent with sealed … more

Only in the last year have ecologists determined a reliable count of the total number of species on Earth. For eukaryotic species—organisms with a membrane-bound nucleus—the estimate is … more

As a frequent reader of scientific literature, I often come across articles highlighting the innovations derived from biological organisms. The growing discipline of biomimetics testifies to this … more

The following will briefly describe three new examples. The fact that Earth’s life provides insights and innovations for scientists and engineers to build more advanced devices fits more … more