Video: Slime Mold Engineers the Motorways of Spain | Wired Science. For an example of sophisticated behavior in seemingly simple creatures — or, conversely, to put human engineering in a new perspective — witness the lowly slime mold. Set on an agar plate shaped like the Iberian peninsula, with piles of oat flakes representing cities, the growth patterns of these social amoebae successfully reconstructed the road systems of Spain and Portugal. The experiment, currently in Biosystems, is the latest in a series of slime-mold studies by University of West England computer scientist Andrew Adamatzky, who is fascinated by how Physarum polycephalum‘s foraging abilities can be represented in high-powered computational terms.
“Physarum is renowned for building optimal transport networks, which minimize distance of cytoplasmic transfer but also span as much sources of nutrients as possible,” said Adamatzky. “Ideally, human-built roads should fulfill the same criteria.” In earlier studies, Adamatzky put Physarum on maps of the Netherlands and United Kingdom. Biomimicry Institute - Home. The Biomimicry 3.8 Institute is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and imitation of nature’s remarkably efficient designs, bringing together scientists, engineers, architects and innovators of all ages who can use those models to create sustainable technologies. The Institute was founded in 2006 by science writer and consultant Janine Benyus in response to overwhelming interest in the subject following the publication of her book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. See Janine’s TED Talk video for her groundbreaking introduction to biomimicry.
Today, the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute focuses on three areas: Developing our online database of nature’s solutions, AskNature.org.Hosting our annual, international Biomimicry Student Design Challenge.Growing our Global Network of regional biomimicry practitioners. See examples of biomimicry in action! Meet executive director Beth Rattner, our staff, and the Institute board. Ask Nature - the Biomimicry Design Portal: biomimetics, architecture, biology, innovation inspired by nature, industrial design - Ask Nature - the Biomimicry Design Portal: biomimetics, architecture, biology, innovation inspired by nature, industrial desi. IBM Biomimicry Challenge. Biomimicry Challenge: TOA Uses Fungi to Reimagine Sustainable Neighborhoods. As cities redevelop to provide greener, more efficient living and working environments for their residents, the greatest innovation happens in ecodistricts, small pockets of a city where planners can experiment with more sustainable practices.
Portland-based Brightworks, a sustainable development company, has been helping neighborhoods create long-term plans so that they can receive funding under the City of Portland's EcoDistricts Initiative, a new program that hopes to accelerate sustainable neighborhood development throughout the city. This problem was given to Mexico City-based architectural firm Taller de Operaciones Ambientales. Brightworks' Erin Leitch was able to come to Mexico City to introduce the challenge to the team, and in this video you can see her introduce what the designers would come to see as the most important area of focus for their problem-solving: The concept of neighborhood boundaries and how information is easily exchanged through those borders.