Just-in-time Manufacturing Conserves Resources

a bright green python is coiled in itself and fills the frame with open eyes

Biological Strategy

Snakes

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Regulate Cellular Processes

Cells are the basic building blocks of all living systems, so cellular processes dictate how physiological processes occur within those systems. Cells (whether entire unicellular organisms or parts of multicellular living systems) grow, metabolize nutrients (that is, chemically transform them), produce proteins and enzymes, replicate, and move. Cells as part of multicellular systems rarely act alone, instead having ways to signal to start and complete simple to quite complex interactions. How skin heals is a good example of the role of cellular processes. Blood cells called platelets release clotting factors to stop the bleeding; white blood cells rid the area of foreign materials and release molecules to coordinate healing; cells called fibroblasts start rebuilding using proteins called collagen; new blood vessels form; and skin cells called keratinocytes create the new surface.

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Reptiles

Class Reptilia (“creeping”): Lizards, crocodiles, turtles, snakes

Reptiles retain some of the key characteristics that first enabled vertebrates to live permanently on land. They have dry skin covered in scales made of keratin that help prevent water loss. (Amphibians still need to stick close to water to keep their skin moist.) Many reptiles reproduce by laying eggs that are watertight and have a yolk, so eggs can develop on land while staying moist and nourished. Reptiles are also ectotherms, meaning they don’t produce their own body heat. This means they burn through energy much more slowly than “warm blooded” creatures of the same size. It also means that they need to keep warm to keep active, which is why you might see them spending a seemingly inordinate amount of time simply basking in the sun.

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Snakes conserve resources by just-in-time manufacturing.

“Just-in-time manufacturing: Producing as needed and at the time of the need is widely used in biology and such examples include the making of the web by spiders or the production of the toxic chemicals by snakes. Such a capability is increasingly adapted by industry as a method of lowering the cost of operation. Many industries are now manufacturing their products in small quantities as needed to meet consumers demand right at the assembly line. Thus, industry is able to cope with the changing demand and decline or rise in orders for its products.” (Bar-Cohen 2006:498)

Bar-Cohen Y. Biomimetics: biologically inspired technologies. Bar-Cohen Y, editor. Boca Raton, FL: CRC/Taylor & Francis; 2006. 527 p.

Last Updated August 18, 2016

References

Book

Biomimetics: Biologically Inspired Technologies

02/11/2005 | Yoseph Bar-Cohen

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