Dale Chihuly
at the NYBG
Lotus at NYBG:
Since the introduction of the
‘Lotus concept’ in 1992, Lotus leaves
have become an icon for superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning surfaces, and
have led to the concept of the ‘Lotus effect’. Although many other plants have
superhydrophobic surfaces with almost similar contact angles, the lotus shows
better stability and perfection of its water repellency. The upper epidermis of
the lotus leaf has developed some unrivaled optimizations. The extraordinary
shape and the density of the papillae are the basis for the extremely reduced
contact area between surface and water drops.
All Photos© 2017 Am Ang Zhang
Often they grow in murky waters and yet they always look so pristine? Have you ever wondered why? Well, this lotus phenomenon has inspired a German scientist to invent a self cleaning paint.
“……STAY CLEAN LIKE A LOTUS PLANT. A University of Bonn
It is human nature to be critical. It is now a habit of most, especially intellectuals, to be critical of big corporations. You give them credit at your own peril. So the Cockroach Catcher is risking his reputation by quoting from this unlikely source yet again. This magazine is available free online so that you do not even have to be on the plane to read it. But, my goodness, it is full of gems!
This article said:
“They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If so, Mother Nature should be ecstatic, because scientists around the world are patterning industrial processes and all kinds of everyday products after her designs. Welcome to the field of biologically inspired design….
……Some might claim that mimicking nature isn’t exactly new, though. Orville and Wilbur Wright studied birds while designing the first airplane. Velcro resulted when a Swiss engineer began to wonder how the seeds of the burdock plant stuck so stubbornly to his woolen socks. Engineers modeled the nose cone of the Japanese Shinkansen bullet train on the beak of a kingfisher. In the medical field’s search for therapies and cures, physicians have studied nature for millennia. (One of the common arguments made by conservationists is that pharmaceutical companies often find new drugs hidden in the biology of plants that grow in threatened places, like rain forests.) And in recent decades, medical companies have grown increasingly sophisticated at manufacturing joints, bones, artificial skin, and even cells that copy their natural counterparts……”
In the book The Cockroach Catcher, Dr Am Ang Zhang muses over Artemesinin:
“……This reminds me of the story of Artemesinin, now reckoned to be the most powerful anti-malaria drug. It was recorded in the Chinese book of Herbal Medicine, which is over a thousand years old, as treatment for swamp fever. Its rediscovery by China was met with scepticism until it was noted that during the Sino-Indian conflict Chinese soldiers were not dying from the malaria that was rampant in that part of the world. For a long time, the Chinese did not share the findings with the rest of the world. By chance along the banks of Potomac River , specimens of the plant were found. It took some years before the drug was developed. By now it is the standard treatment of choice……”
Ancient
Medicine & Nobel.
Other Nobel Posts:
Fremantle:
Medical Heresy & Nobel
Medicine &
Nobel: Morality & H.P.V.
Curiosity &
Nobel
Kandel &
Doidge: Neuroplasticity & Memory.
Nobel: Kandel
and Lohengrin
Chinese Shared
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nature Posts:
ECOLOGY: First Bees, Now Bats.
Paraguay: Technology Meets Ecology
Hong Kong: Humpback Whale
Tasmania: Whales & Dolphins-Mother & Baby
ECOLOGY: First Bees, Now Bats.
Paraguay: Technology Meets Ecology
Hong Kong: Humpback Whale
Tasmania: Whales & Dolphins-Mother & Baby
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