In 1989, Japan’s Shinkansen Bullet train had a problem. It could travel approximately 170 mph but every time it emerged from a tunnel, it did so with a supersonic boom. In densely populated residential areas this was unacceptable. Enter Eiji Nakatsu, the general manger of the technical department. Eliji was a bird watcher.
His knowledge of birds and their abilities brought to the table design possibilities that science and technology alone could never have invented. The new prototype had the wings of an owl, the body of a penguin and the beak of a kingfisher. It travelled 10% faster, used 15% less electricity and stayed under the 70-decibel noise limit in residential areas.
Using the natural world to solve global problems isn’t new, but its gaining momentum and it now has a name all of its own. Janine Benyus, coined the word, Biomimicry in her book, Innovation inspired by nature. She is a consultant to business and government on how to solve global problems by observing nature. She believes that people who design our world often have little understanding of the natural world. Bringing a biologist to the table can often helps solve the problems.
Certainly that's what CSRIO scientist, Dr Janet Newman is discovering in her research into the fight against superbugs. And that fight has led her to a most unexpected place — the dirt edges of the riverbanks of Eastern Australia. She hopes that the egg-laying, duck-billed, otter-footed, beaver-tailed platypus holds the secret to finding a new way to kill harmful bacteria that have built up a resistance to antibiotics.
His knowledge of birds and their abilities brought to the table design possibilities that science and technology alone could never have invented. The new prototype had the wings of an owl, the body of a penguin and the beak of a kingfisher. It travelled 10% faster, used 15% less electricity and stayed under the 70-decibel noise limit in residential areas.
Using the natural world to solve global problems isn’t new, but its gaining momentum and it now has a name all of its own. Janine Benyus, coined the word, Biomimicry in her book, Innovation inspired by nature. She is a consultant to business and government on how to solve global problems by observing nature. She believes that people who design our world often have little understanding of the natural world. Bringing a biologist to the table can often helps solve the problems.
Certainly that's what CSRIO scientist, Dr Janet Newman is discovering in her research into the fight against superbugs. And that fight has led her to a most unexpected place — the dirt edges of the riverbanks of Eastern Australia. She hopes that the egg-laying, duck-billed, otter-footed, beaver-tailed platypus holds the secret to finding a new way to kill harmful bacteria that have built up a resistance to antibiotics.
Although the platypus is a mammal, it lays eggs and its young are born with virtually no immune system. It has no nipples, so secretes milk onto small pads on the underside of its body for the babies to lap up. Of course that can be a dirty business in a riverbank, which is what got scientists intrigued and keen to find out if the milk had special antibacterial properties.
Collecting a sample of milk involved creeping through a river, trapping a platypus and gently stimulating milk production to collect a small amount of the precious milk. From the sample they were able to extract a protein that has antibacterial properties and identify its structure, allowing them to make a synthetic version that they can reproduce.
The protein shape “Is particularly unusual, and it hints that the protein may be killing bacteria in a different way to most bacterial substances.” Dr Newman said. Now the goal is to identify just how it works.
Who knows what other secrets the shy platypus may hold. Native to the Eastern coast of Australia, it’s an intriguing animal. Folds of skin cover their eyes and ears to stop water entering and the nostrils close with a watertight seal so finding food under water relies on its bill.
The bill is covered with acutely sensitive electroreceptors, which pick up minute amounts of electricity emitted by the muscle contraction of aquatic invertebrates. This acts as a sixth sense for the platypus.
Its fur is unique too with 600-900 hairs per square millimetre, more than polar bears. It traps a layer of insulating air to keep the platypus warm and waterproof. They can consume their entire body weight in food within 24 hours and they are crepuscular (active in twilight) and evening.
The male platypus has a poisonous spur on their hind legs, a poison deadly enough to kill a dog. Australian scientists are now investigating if platypus venom could hold the key to Diabetes treatment and the signs are positive.
There is still so much in nature we don’t understand, so much still to be discovered and so many secrets to unlock which could help solve the increasing problems of our modern world.
Collecting a sample of milk involved creeping through a river, trapping a platypus and gently stimulating milk production to collect a small amount of the precious milk. From the sample they were able to extract a protein that has antibacterial properties and identify its structure, allowing them to make a synthetic version that they can reproduce.
The protein shape “Is particularly unusual, and it hints that the protein may be killing bacteria in a different way to most bacterial substances.” Dr Newman said. Now the goal is to identify just how it works.
Who knows what other secrets the shy platypus may hold. Native to the Eastern coast of Australia, it’s an intriguing animal. Folds of skin cover their eyes and ears to stop water entering and the nostrils close with a watertight seal so finding food under water relies on its bill.
The bill is covered with acutely sensitive electroreceptors, which pick up minute amounts of electricity emitted by the muscle contraction of aquatic invertebrates. This acts as a sixth sense for the platypus.
Its fur is unique too with 600-900 hairs per square millimetre, more than polar bears. It traps a layer of insulating air to keep the platypus warm and waterproof. They can consume their entire body weight in food within 24 hours and they are crepuscular (active in twilight) and evening.
The male platypus has a poisonous spur on their hind legs, a poison deadly enough to kill a dog. Australian scientists are now investigating if platypus venom could hold the key to Diabetes treatment and the signs are positive.
There is still so much in nature we don’t understand, so much still to be discovered and so many secrets to unlock which could help solve the increasing problems of our modern world.
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