Current Topics in Biomimetics Wrap-Up

Biomimetics is not an emerging field. However, its importance in medical biotechnology is increasing as people begin to realize that engineering cannot out-perform nature. Using nature as a model for the development of biotechnology provides scientists and engineers alike the blueprints to natural mechanisms, which have been refined through millions of years of natural selection. Though we may never achieve perfection in creating technologies that perform as well as natural systems, we can always try to come close. In attempting to achieve perfection we will continue to improve the health of the population and the efficiency of medical care. Biomimetics is the most practical and sustainable field of biotechnology, because nature has millions of natural mechanisms to offer, which have evolved into sustainable forms. Ultimately, through biomimetics, we can make technologies smaller, more efficient, easier to manufacture, and less wasteful. All of which will help reduce healthcare costs and solve additional healthcare problems.

As our most recent post on biomimetic robots points out, biomimetics as a field goes far beyond applications to medicine. It can be used in the military and the automotive industry, as well as in the development of common products like Velcro. However, medical bionics are some of the most useful and cost-effective applications. Biotechnology is an increasingly expensive field with excessive amounts of money spent researching specific solutions to very rare conditions. Nevertheless, biomimetics can help reduce the costs of these technologies by encouraging researchers to mimic the unique solutions nature has already developed, which are usually the most simple and efficient solutions available. For example, the artificial cornea and the new hearing aid technologies are fairly simple and cheap to manufacture and implant. They also work much better than existing technologies to address vision and hearing loss.

On another note, biomimetics can be used to come up with simpler and less expensive solutions to problems that affect a large proportion of the population. Two examples are the biomimetic glue based on worm glue that can repair bones without extensive surgery, along with the mussel adhesive proteins used as surgical adhesive. Another example is Delisea pulchra (red seaweed). The discovery of Delisea pulchra was very significant for the healthcare industry, because it can effectively avoid a wide range of bacterial infections without propagating any bacterial resistance. This can save healthcare costs on many fronts and improve the treatment of bacterial infections without fear of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is an example of a human technology gone wrong. Antiobiotics were based on a natural model—pencillin—yet the human application of antibiotics has not been based on the understanding of natural systems. Delisea pulchra is a way to improve upon existing technologies through biomimetics.

Medical bionic technologies do not have to be technologies that are directly applied to the body. They can make hospitals and healthcare safer and more efficient. Examples of this are the anti-bacterial surface technology based on shark skin which could reduce the rates of infection in hospitals and the use of tiny robots that could perform surgery in small arteries in the body. Other robotic surgeries like those based on snakes can improve the safety of healthcare by replacing human error with more consistent technological solutions.

Biomimetic solutions are incredibly useful, but manufacturing these technologies can be extremely difficult. For example, the field of tissue bionics involves mimicking natural tissues. This entails both manipulating tissues and manufacturing synthetic analogues with similar properties. Because these tissues are so complex, it is difficult to reproduce them in the lab. Manipulating existing tissues is easier than manufacturing synthetic materials. One example of the usefulness of manipulated natural materials is the use of naked, natural heart scaffolds to grow new hearts for transplantation. Use of existing materials is a viable alternative to engineering completely new products.

Despite the promise of biomimetics, we need to make sure that we as a society do not become over-dependent on technology to improve health. In the US we have arguably already reached this point. Most of the deaths and loss of quality years of life in the US are a consequence of chronic disease. Often, these types of health problems can be most effectively and inexpensively addressed through preventative measures like healthy eating, routine check-ups, and basic healthcare. If we use nature as a model, not just for innovative technologies, but also for more general principles, we will see that simplicity and integration are key to the proper functioning of all things. We should not try to overcomplicate medicine and spend unnecessary resources looking for solutions to problems that are much more easily prevented than treated. We need to realize that technology will not solve all our problems and that solution-oriented thinking can be harmful when it leads to ignorance of underlying issues that could be more proactively addressed. When we do need to find solutions, we can save time and money that would be spent on research and development by mimicking simple and efficient solutions found in nature.