Because every living thing on the planet has overcome an incredible number of challenges in order to survive. Inspired by Earth’s biodiversity, scientists today are developing fascinating new technologies to solve tough problems and heal human beings. A robot mimics a wasp’s boring mechanism to drill precisely into the brain. The glue of the sandcastle worm inspires a surgical patch. Dung beetles mitigate methane release. Marine snail toxin leads to new medicines for pain and cancer. As biotechnologist and entrepreneur Jeff Karp puts it, “Evolution is the best problem-solver.”
This project is supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).