Inspired by Nature: The Thrilling New Science That Could Transform Medicine
Jeffrey Karp is at the forefront of a new generation of scientists using nature's blueprints to create breakthrough medical technologies. Can bioinspiration help to solve some of humanity's most urgent problems?
- Laura Parker for The Guardian October 25th, 2016
- Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/oct/25/bioinspiration-thrilling-new-science-could-transform-medicine
In the summer of 2005, Jeffrey Karp, a bioengineer at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was working late one night when he spotted a journal article on a colleague's desk. What caught his eye was not the text itself, but the full-page colour illustration of SpiderMan that accompanied it. Intrigued, Karp sat down and started reading.
The article detailed how a group of researchers had created a new synthetic material by mimicking the properties of gecko feet - whose tiny, hair-like pillars allow the lizard to stick to and detach from apparently sheer surfaces with ease.
