Biomimetics and its tools

Biomimetics, as the transfer of strategies from biology to technology, is an emerging research area and has led to significant concepts over the past decades. The development of such concepts is described by the process of biomimetics, encompassing several steps. In Practice, beneficiaries of the process face challenges. Therefore, to overcome challenges and to facilitate the steps, tools have been developed in various areas, such as engineering, computing and design. However, these tools are not widely used yet. This paper presents an overview and a classification study of more than 40 tools with qualitative criteria. The criteria included, for example, the year of development, the accessibility of tools, the facilitated steps of the process or their contribution to sustainability. The classification shows that certain steps of the process and their challenges are well addressed by the tools, while other steps are not. The presented results contribute to the proposal of an improvement of the state of the art, and they build the foundation for future theoretical and practical analyses. These findings could contribute to increasing the implementation of biomimetics in various disciplines in the long term

BRCC36A is epistatic to BRCA1 in DNA crosslink repair and homologous recombination in Arabidopsis thaliana

BRCA1 is a well-known tumor suppressor protein in mammals, involved in multiple cellular processes such as DNA repair, chromosome segregation and chromatin remodeling. Interestingly, homologs of BRCA1 and several of its complex partners are also found in plants. As the respective mutants are viable, in contrast to mammalian mutants, detailed analyses of their biological role is possible. Here we demonstrate that the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana harbors two homologs of the mammalian BRCA1 interaction partner BRCC36, AtBRCC36A and AtBRCC36B. Mutants of both genes as well as the double mutants are fully fertile and show no defects in development. We were able to show that mutation of one of the homologs, AtBRCC36A, leads to a severe defect in intra- and interchromosomal homologous recombination (HR). A HR defect is also apparent in Atbrca1 mutants. As the Atbrcc36a/Atbrca1 double mutant behaves like the single mutants of AtBRCA1 and AtBRCC36A both proteins seem to be involved in a common pathway in the regulation of HR. AtBRCC36 is also epistatic to AtBRCA1 in DNA crosslink repair. Upon genotoxic stress, AtBRCC36A is transferred into the nucleus

Biomimetic Research for Applications Addressing Technical Environmental Protection

Biomimetic research has increased over the last decades, and the development process has been systemized regarding its methods and tools. The aim of biomimetics is to solve practical problems of real-life scenarios. In this context, biomimetics can also address sustainability. To better understand how biomimetics research and development can achieve more sustainable solutions, five projects of applied research have been monitored and analyzed regarding biological models, abstracted biological principles, and the recognition of the applied efficiency strategies. In this manuscript, the way in which sustainability can be addressed is described, possibly serving as inspiration for other projects and topics. The results indicate that sustainability needs to be considered from the very beginning in biomimetic projects, and it can remain a focus during various phases of the development process

The Education Pipeline of Biomimetics and Its Challenges

Biomimetics must be taught to the next generation of designers in the interest of delivering solutions for current problems. Teaching biomimetics involves teachers and students from and in various disciplines at different stages of the educational system. There is no common understanding of how and what to teach in the different phases of the educational pipeline. This manuscript describes different perspectives, expectations, needs, and challenges of users from various backgrounds. It focuses on how biomimetics is taught at the various stages of education and career: from K-12 to higher education to continuing education. By constructing the biomimetics education pipeline, we find that some industry challenges are addressed and provide opportunities to transfer the lessons to application. We also identify existing gaps in the biomimetics education pipeline that could further advance industry application if a curriculum is developed

What Do We Learn from Good Practices of Biologically Inspired Design in Innovation?

Biologically inspired design (BID) is an emerging field of research with increasing achievements in engineering for design and problem solving. Its economic, societal, and ecological impact is considered to be significant. However, the number of existing products and success stories is still limited when compared to the knowledge that is available from biology and BID research. This article describes success factors for BID solutions, from the design process to the commercialization process, based on case studies and market analyses of biologically inspired products. Furthermore, the paper presents aspects of an effective knowledge transfer from science to industrial application, based on interviews with industrial partners. The accessibility of the methodological approach has led to promising advances in BID in practice. The findings can be used to increase the number of success stories by providing key steps toward the implementation and commercialization of BID products, and to point out necessary fields of cooperative research

Biomimetics Linked to Classical Product Development: An Interdisciplinary Endeavor to Develop a Technical Standard

Biomimetics is a well-known approach for technical innovation. However, most of its influence remains in the academic field. One option for increasing its application in the practice of technical design is to enhance the use of the biomimetic process with a step-by-step standard, building a bridge to common engineering procedures. This article presents the endeavor of an interdisciplinary expert panel from the fields of biology, engineering science, and industry to develop a standard that links biomimetics to the classical processes of product development and engineering design. This new standard, VDI 6220 Part 2, proposes a process description that is compatible and connectable to classical approaches in engineering design. The standard encompasses both the solution-based and the problem-driven process of biomimetics. It is intended to be used in any product development process for more biomimetic applications in the future

Biomimetics Linked to Classical Product Development: An Interdisciplinary Endeavor to Develop a Technical Standard

Biomimetics is a well-known approach for technical innovation. However, most of its influence remains in the academic field. One option for increasing its application in the practice of technical design is to enhance the use of the biomimetic process with a step-by-step standard, building a bridge to common engineering procedures. This article presents the endeavor of an interdisciplinary expert panel from the fields of biology, engineering science, and industry to develop a standard that links biomimetics to the classical processes of product development and engineering design. This new standard, VDI 6220 Part 2, proposes a process description that is compatible and connectable to classical approaches in engineering design. The standard encompasses both the solution-based and the problem-driven process of biomimetics. It is intended to be used in any product development process for more biomimetic applications in the future

A homologue of the breast cancer-associated gene BARD1 is involved in DNA repair in plants

hBRCA1 and hBARD1 are tumor suppressor proteins that are involved as heterodimer via ubiquitinylation in many cellular processes, such as DNA repair. Loss of BRCA1 or BARD1 results in early embryonic lethality and chromosomal instability. The Arabidopsis genome carries a BRCA1 homologue, and we were able to identify a BARD1 homologue. AtBRCA1 and the putative AtBARD1 protein are able to interact with each other as indicated by in vitro and in planta experiments. We have identified T-DNA insertion mutants for both genes, which show no visible phenotype under standard growth conditions and are fully fertile. Thus, in contrast to animals, both genes have no indispensable role during development and meiosis in plants. The two single as well as the double mutant are to a similar extent sensitive to mitomycin C, indicating an epistatic interaction in DNA crosslink repair. We could further demonstrate that in Arabidopsis BARD1 plays a prominent role in the regulation of homologous DNA repair in somatic cells