This article is about artificial ant robots that were programmed to find disks that represented food and resources and push the disks to a designated area. The robots also went through artificial natural selection and gene flow. The experiment showed that after about 150 generations, the robots evolved to help each other push the large disks. This evolved altruism was predicted by biologist W.D. Hamilton in 1964 when he was trying to explain why organisms evolve to share time and resources. This could be a very interesting fact to use for future robots, because the robots could work together on a project without human direction.

This article is a very interesting example of biomimicry. It reminds me a lot of how we mimic butterfly wings to produce iridescence. This article talks about how physicist Hui Cao from Yale was inspired by birghtly colored bird feathers to create a new type of laser. Just like butterfly wings, the color on the birds' feathers are the result of texture on a nano scale. These brightly colored birds have organized air pockets that reflect light in a certain way. Cao used this to make air pockets in a thin sheet of gallium arsenide. This proved to be effective in creating a cheap, efficient laser light. While he does not have any applications for this yet, it is a great use of nature to start to solve current problems with technology.

This article is about a low-impact/ permaculture house built in Wales. The house focuses on sustainability and utilizing nature's natural resources. The article lists the materials used for the house and their functions. The house is almost like a giant bird's nest, using "stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc" and hay and straw to insulate the house. It also has solar panels to power lights and electricity, as well has extensive sun windows to let in natural light. I think this article is interesting because without saying it, the builder is mimicking processes in nature in order to live without major technology.

This article talks about making robots using whole-skin locomotion that mimics amoeba movement. It seems like a great idea. This article also talks about the possibilities that are available with a robot using this type of locomotion. There is an iRobot BlobBot that can change its shape and squeeze and stretch. This would be great for using a robot to get into tight spaces. This seems useful for the robot project!

This is a great article that was posted on Twitter by John McCann. Thank you! This relates to the material silk, which is a very useful naturally-made material. In my research, I came across a goat that was able to produce silk proteins in its milk thanks to science, but I never saw this. This article talks about how some researchers have been able to modify silkworms to produce a mix of silkworm/spider silk. This is much more sturdy than silk from a silkworm alone. It is better to be produced by a silkworm, because they are easier to raise and more efficient at producing silk. This is a great article to think about biomimicry.

This article involves using natural methods to control pests and prevent them from eating the rice crop. The article does a wonderful job explaining how important rice is in third world countries and worldwide. This article also explains how researchers teamed up to come up with this three step process. The article does not explain the processes in detail, though. All that it says about the actual mechanisms is :The integrated approach involves three key technologies: electronic insect traps that allow growers to estimate the number of insects in rice storage silos, aeration or refrigeration of silos to delay insect development, and 'modified atmosphere' with the use of carbon dioxide or nitrogen gas, again to slow down pest development. This article is interesting and informative on a big picture scale, but not for a detailed article.

This is an article about a new discovery that some octopuses tuck in six of their legs and run backwards on two to get away from predators. Biologists think this is so that they can remain camouflaged and increase their speed. This is important for bio-inspiration because the article also mentions how this could be used for "soft" robotics and artificial muscle. It is the first underwater bipedal locomotion that has been discovered.