Check out this bit of biomimicry goodness from EurekAlert (Link):

Being able to hear the smallest of noises is a matter of life or death for many insects, but for the scientists studying their hearing systems understanding how insect ears can be so sensitive could lead to new microphones able to capture and analyse extremely faint sounds.

Having worked on the design of a mosquito trap that uses a combination of sensory attractors (heat, visual pattern, sound, carbon monoxide), this one makes me light up like one of those bug zappers. Maybe because I’ve also done work for microphone manufacturer Audio-Technica. Wild how things manage to relate.

By the way, what are they feeding those people in Bristol? Seems they’re leading the world in a number of areas related to biomimicry. I’m also on their listserv, so I see plenty of other stuff as well. Busy little bees over there.

via Boing Boing

I’ve been seeing more and more mention of illuminated fabrics. Wired has an article today on the stuff, but I’ve previously seen this on other sites. So rather than direct you anywhere specifically, I’ll just suggest you visit the loop.pH website (Link) where I found the above image. There’s all kinds, but this “history” exploration is what I enjoy most (and I’m fairly certain I read about this quite a while ago).

{Image Copyright © 2003 – 2006 by Loop.pH Ltd.}