Healing, Feeling, Skin Does It All

Biological Strategy

Humans

AskNature Team

Image: Nsey Benajah / Unsplash / Free non-commercial use

Coordinate Systems

Nature is full of systems that work in harmony by following simple rules that lead to complex behavior, such as fish swimming in a school or migrating grasshoppers flying in swarms. Coordinated behavior is also observed in how a slime mold grows, how our own neural network functions, and how some animals vote on where to live or move.

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Optimize Shape/Materials

Resources are limited and the simple act of retaining them requires resources, especially energy. Living systems must constantly balance the value of resources obtained with the costs of resources expended; failure to do so can result in death or prevent reproduction. Living systems therefore optimize, rather than maximize, resource use. Optimizing shape ultimately optimizes materials and energy. An example of such optimization can be seen in the dolphin’s body shape. It’s streamlined to reduce drag in the water due to an optimal ratio of length to diameter, as well as features on its surface that lie flat, reducing turbulence.

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Mammals

Class Mammalia (“breast”): Bats, cats, whales, horses, humans

Mammals make up less than 1% of all animals on earth, but they include some of the most well-known species. We know first-hand some of the characteristics that make mammals unique, like having hair, being able to sweat, and producing milk through mammary glands. Another critical shared feature is a set of highly-specialized teeth. Unlike sharks or alligators, for example, whose teeth are generally all the same size and shape, mammals have differently shaped teeth in different areas of the jaws to target specific foods or foraging strategies.

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Multiple components allow skin to heal, feel, and more.

“Nature offers numerous examples of materials that serve multiple functions. Biological materials routinely contain sensing, healing, actuation, and other functions built into the primary structures of an organism. The human skin, for instance, consists of many layers of cells, each of which contains oil and perspiration glands, sensory receptors, hair follicles, blood vessels, and other components with functions other than providing the basic structure and protection for the internal organs. These structures have evolved in nature over eons to the level of seamless integration and perfection with which they serve their functions.” (Bar-Cohen 2006:310)

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