Nature has many ways to solve problems. We humans learn a lot from animals and plants in nature. There is a science about how we copy great ideas from animals and plants to create helpful products. It is called biomimetics (仿生学) .
Some animals such as this sugar glider have wing-like structures (结构) to help them fly from tree to tree. When they jump, they spread out their arms and legs to help them fly down easily. Wing-suits, a kind of clothes, can let people experience flying. The idea of these clothes comes from the sugar glider.
Some animals have structures used for self-protection. An armadillo has a hard cover that can protect it from other dangerous animals. When an armadillo feels that it is in danger, it will change into a ball. Once the dangerous animal goes away, it comes out of the ball. The armadillo has taught people to create a backpack with a hard surface. The surface of the backpack protects things inside from being broken.
Plants have helped people come up with amazing inventions, too. Perhaps the best-known example is Velcro (尼龙搭扣) . It includes two pieces of cloth. They stick to each other when they are pressed together. Velcro is used on everything from handbags to clothes. The idea of Velcro is from burrs (带芒刺的小果实) of a plant. They have special structures to allow themselves to stick to people's clothing or hair. They are taken to other places in this way.
From these examples, we can see biomimetics is widely used in our daily life. What other problems will nature help us solve in the future? Let's wait and see!
