Biomimicry Gone Bad!

   CREDIT: AP

Hilarious piece in the August issue of Wired, where writer David Wolman presents his “10 Worst Evolutionary Designs” – nature’s concepts perhaps we shouldn’t mimic in our green buildings. Examples he gives include the sea mammal blowhole, the giraffe birth canal, the human stomach, and the narwhal tusk:

“The unicorn-like protuberance on a male narwhal's head is actually a tooth that erupts through the front of the jaw and keeps on growing, up to 9 feet.”

Then again, the single-spiraled tusk of this arctic whale may yet hold some design inspiration. Worldwide, it’s long been considered the "other" ivory by conservationists and just in demand on the black market as African elephant tusks, while efforts at protecting both species continue to mount. Since 2000, narwhal teeth and their associated structures have been the subject of study by researchers in cellular biology, anatomy, marine mammal science, dental medicine, evolutionary genetics and mathematics. See Narwhal Tusk Discoveries to learn more.

Who knows, maybe we’ll see narwhal tusk-inspired fiber optics cabling?