Learn how biomimicry uses nature as inspiration and how it is playing an important role in the medical field. This title supports NGSS for Engineering Design.

This volume outlines the current status in the field of biomimetic medical materials and illustrates research into their applications in tissue engineering. The book is divided into six parts, focusing on nano biomaterials, stem cells, tissue engineering, 3D printing, immune responses and intellectual property. Each chapter has its own introduction and outlines current research trends in a variety of applications of biomimetic medical materials. The biomimetic medical materials that are covered include functional hydrogels, nanoparticles for drug delivery and medicine, the 3D bioprinting of biomaterials, sensor materials, stem cell interactions with biomaterials, immune responses to biomaterials, biodegradable hard scaffolds for tissue engineering, as well as other important topics, like intellectual property. Each chapter is written by a team of experts. This volume attempts to introduce the biomimetic properties of biomedical materials within the context of our current understanding of the nanotechnology of nanoparticles and fibres and the macroscopic aspects of 3D bioprinting.

Engineered Biomimicry covers a broad range of research topics in the emerging discipline of biomimicry. Biologically inspired science and technology, using the principles of math and physics, has led to the development of products as ubiquitous as VelcroTM (modeled after the spiny hooks on plant seeds and fruits). Readers will learn to take ideas and concepts like this from nature, implement them in research, and understand and explain diverse phenomena and their related functions. From bioinspired computing and medical products to biomimetic applications like artificial muscles, MEMS, textiles and vision sensors, Engineered Biomimicry explores a wide range of technologies informed by living natural systems. Engineered Biomimicry helps physicists, engineers and material scientists seek solutions in nature to the most pressing technical problems of our times, while providing a solid understanding of the important role of biophysics. Some physical applications include adhesion superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning, structural coloration, photonic devices, biomaterials and composite materials, sensor systems, robotics and locomotion, and ultra-lightweight structures. - Explores biomimicry, a fast-growing, cross-disciplinary field in which researchers study biological activities in nature to make critical advancements in science and engineering - Introduces bioinspiration, biomimetics, and bioreplication, and provides biological background and practical applications for each - Cutting-edge topics include bio-inspired robotics, microflyers, surface modification and more

This revised, updated and expanded new edition presents an overview of biomimetics and biologically inspired structured surfaces. It deals with various examples of biomimetics which include surfaces with roughness-induced superomniphobicity, self-cleaning, antifouling, and controlled adhesion. The focus in the book is on the Lotus Effect, Salvinia Effect, Rose Petal Effect, Oleophobic/philic Surfaces, Shark Skin Effect, and Gecko Adhesion. This new edition also contains new chapters on the butterfly wing effect, bio- and inorganic fouling and structure and Properties of Nacre and structural coloration.

There has been a rapid expansion of activity in the area of biomaterials and related medical devices, both in scientific terms and in clinical and commercial applications. The definition of terms has failed to keep pace with the rapidity of these developments and there is considerable confusion over the terminology used in this highly multi- and inter-disciplinary area. This confusion has arisen partly from the use of inappropriate terms which already have well-defined meanings in their parent disciplines, but which are used inexpertly by those working in other disciplines, and partly from the haphazard generation of new terms for the purpose of defining new phenomena or devices. For example, many terms used in pathology with distinct, if not readily understood, meanings are used by materials scientists to describe biocompatibility phenomena with slightly changed or even wholly misrepresented meanings; similarly, terms from materials science and engineering are seriously misused by biologists and clinicians working in this field. The leading proponent of harmonization and clarity in medical device terminology, Professor D. F. Williams has been influential in setting the standard for the accurate definition of some of the terms used. In particular, the definition of biocompatibility, ‘the Williams definition’, agreed at a 1987 conference has been adopted worldwide. Now, in association with O’Donnell and Associates of Brussels, he has prepared The Williams Dictionary to provide a definitive exposition of the meaning of the terminology used in the area of biomaterials and medical devices. It includes definitions and explanations of more than 2,000 terms from many areas, including biomaterials and medical devices, materials science, biological sciences, and clinical medicine and surgery.

Repackaged with a new afterword, this "valuable and entertaining" (New York Times Book Review) book explores how scientists are adapting nature's best ideas to solve tough 21st century problems. Biomimicry is rapidly transforming life on earth. Biomimics study nature's most successful ideas over the past 3.5 million years, and adapt them for human use. The results are revolutionizing how materials are invented and how we compute, heal ourselves, repair the environment, and feed the world. Janine Benyus takes readers into the lab and in the field with maverick thinkers as they: discover miracle drugs by watching what chimps eat when they're sick; learn how to create by watching spiders weave fibers; harness energy by examining how a leaf converts sunlight into fuel in trillionths of a second; and many more examples. Composed of stories of vision and invention, personalities and pipe dreams, Biomimicry is must reading for anyone interested in the shape of our future.

In this pathfinding book, many of the world’s leading health visionaries show how human health is inescapably dependent on the health of our environment. Drawn largely from presentations given at the annual Bioneers Conference, it focuses on pragmatic solutions growing at the fertile interface between environmental restoration and holistic healing. The Bioneers ("biological pioneers”) are a network of scientists, writers, economists, artists, and others with practical and visionary solutions for our most pressing environmental and social challenges. Advocates of the emerging movement known as Ecological Medicine look to the strategic public health measures that first do no harm to the environment and, in turn, improve human health. They call for prevention and precaution as the first line of action. They seek to heal the tragic split that conventional medicine made from nature, and to conjure nature’s own mysterious capacity for self-repair. They celebrate the virtues of ancient natural medicine but also embrace an integrative approach that blends the best of all healing practices--emphasizing the centrality of the human spirit in the healing process. Their inspiring work, described so compellingly in this book, is of critical relevance to everyone concerned about health and the environment.