Explore
design-features
Back to Topics
Page 9 of 15 (179 Articles)
It’s an attractive web they weave
Did you know that the electrostatic properties of spider webs, and a ‘quirk of physics’, causes them to actively spring towards airborne objects?
by David Catchpoole
Copy challenge
Man looked to the birds, and conquered the skies. Now researchers are looking to imitate a much tinier winged creature …
by Alexander Williams
How geckos become unstuck
Geckos stick to surfaces with tiny hairs that attract by van der Waals forces, and come unstuck by controlling angle of the hairs and springy curved toes.
by Jonathan Sarfati
Ants: the incredible heavy-lifting champions
Amazing design allows a tiny, fragile creature to lift objects way beyond its size.
by Cody Guitard
Fawn among the flowers
Simply touching a baby deer could end its life.
by Dr Wolfgang Kuhn
Mini ‘hand grenades’ explode evolutionary ideas
The tiny fruit of a plant lands a big blow against evolution.
by Dr Wolfgang Kuhn
DNA repair mechanisms ‘shout’ creation
The 2015 Nobel Prize for Chemistry highlights that DNA would be useless without the repair mechanisms to preserve it.
by Don Batten
Trilobite technology
Far from being examples of ‘primitive’ creatures, trilobite fossils have perfectly designed eyes.
by Charles Stammers
Bees’ guidance strategy for avoiding crash landings
Designers of flying robotic drones have tried and failed to make autonomous landing systems, despite using lasers, radars, sonars and GPS technology. So how do bees do it so easily?
by David Catchpoole
The amazing sea horse
The father gives birth and it has no evolutionary links. It may be the world’s most baffling fish!
by David Juhasz
Ants—swarm intelligence
Ants: swarm intelligence
by Paula Weston
Sharks: denizens of the deep
Few creatures alive today incite more fear and awe than these fierce marine predators with their razor-sharp teeth. But not all sharks are harmful to man.
by Paula Weston