5 Nature-Inspired Innovations

The shifting hues of squid skin, the stickiness of gecko toes, the self-cleansing of lotus leaves. Understanding these and other natural phenomena can yield not only fascinating biological insights, but also fresh solutions to today’s most pressing environmental challenges. Biomimicry — applying the design of natural systems to human problems — has gained momentum in recent years. Last August, the San Diego Zoo opened its Center for Bioinspiration, which works with companies and research institutions to translate zoo scientists’ findings into practical applications. Taking cues from nature makes sense. Plants and animals have a 3.8 billion year head start on scientists in adapting to natural pressures, whether that involves using sunlight efficiently or keeping cool in hot, arid climates. Here’s a look at five biomimicry advances that emerged within the past year.

How Does it Feel to Fly?

Humans' fascination with flight:  it will never end. And with every shift in aviation and, now, film technology, come new ways of bringing others into an experience only a few people dare to pursue.  

BASE jumpers have this adrenaline-drenched corner of the market covered, but wingsuits can look silly, no? 

Enter the skydivers armed with GoPro cameras and some stellar sound editors at Infinity List (who also brought us the trailer for Birdmen), and the result gives us insight on what heaven might feel like.  

For some of us. The ones that would rather not jump off high things for that type of firsthand knowledge.

--Benita Hussain / image from Experience Human Flight / Infinity List

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Hit-and-Run from the Cyclist's Perspective

Speed Record Broken on El Cap's Nose

Kayakers Encounter Great White Sharks

Follow that Turtle: 3 Tools to Track Marine Life

There is no longer a need to sit in a crowded whale-watching boat for hours on end wondering where all the ocean's giants are — the Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) website's near real-time animal tracker lets you follow tagged salmon sharks, elephant seals, blue sharks, sea turtles, and great whites as they travel the Pacific Ocean. 

The tracker also shows how fast the animal is moving and where the animal has been in the past. 

MPAtlas, an online interactive map that highlights the world's protected marine areas, takes the online animal watch a step further. While animals swim the seas on TOPP, consult MPAtlas to see if they are staying within the confines of protected ocean space or traveling into unexpected waters. Watch out, it's a nail-biting experience (not really). 

The map is a joint project of the Marine Conservation Institute and the Waitt Foundation and shows the different types and levels of protection around the world. It also marks candidate areas for future protection. What is baffling, though, is that only small portions of the interactive map are highlighted as "designated marine protection areas." MPAtlas statistics show that only 1.2 percent of the Earth's oceans are actually protected. As for the other 98.8 percent? Not so lucky — for now. 

A Creepy Scottish Cycling Trip with Rapha

"Eimhir, the daughter of the MacLeod clan, who was betrothed to the devil but, preferring death, jumped into the loch and was transformed into a mermaid," UK outfitter Rapha's blog tells us.  "Auld Clootie, enraged, struck the earth and created the blasted landscape, it is said."

This "blasted landscape" belongs to Assynt, a seriously out-of-the way corner of northeast Scotland, which makes it ripe for cycling, as the Rapha Continental team does, through gale winds and herds of wild deer.

Their short film is one to watch.  It can be described as beautiful, and, like the legend, haunting and kind of creepy, particularly with the Beowulfian narration of their experience. 

Not bad for advertising either.

Benita Hussain is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, GOOD and Women's Adventure Magazine, among others. With degrees from Cornell University and Fordham Law School, she's also a part-time lawyer and yoga teacher that surfs, climbs and travels to do both.  Twitter: @hussainity.

Follow Water Quality Robots on Twitter

On May 9, 2012, UC Berkeley researchers launched a fleet of 100 water quality sensors into Northern California's Sacramento River.  Designed to track water contamination, salinity, and levels within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the sensors were actually floating, tweeting robots, which researchers hoped would gather high-resolution data on contamination and direction in which salt water flowed. 

"Responsible stewardship of inland water requires detailed information about the mixing and transport of various constituents in the water itself," says project manager Andrew Tinka.  He says that the finalized Floating Sensor Network robots will help accomplish this because they can be rapidly deployed to new locations to track unexpected pollution, a necessity for public safety and planning.  This is especially true in areas with a variety of stakeholders, such as the Delta, which is an endangered habitat and a major drinking water and irrigation source.

What is also effective about using social and mobile media technologies like tweeting robots (beyond the cute factor) is that end-users can sometimes participate in and benefit from this information, which can help increase awareness and support.  

For example, there is the Sewage Alert Service, whose text messages offer information on 200 beaches in England, and which, according to Drift Surfing, has helped change the behavior of an astounding 94 percent of beachgoers, surfers, and swimmers that subscribe.  

Another example is Creek Watch, a crowd-sourcing application for iPods and iPads, which Microsoft developed to gather first-hand observations to share with water control boards. (Data on water levels, speed, and trash are collected into an observable table to help agencies track pollution, manage water resources, and plan conservation programs.)

Tinka agrees with this modernized way of leveraging social networks and moving beyond static water trackers. "Those of us who love exploring and spending time in the outdoors have a special motivation to see these ecosystems safeguarded and maintained," he says. "Good decisions require good information, and technologies like the FSN can help us make the right choices in the future."

Benita Hussain is a Sierra editorial intern and writer whose work has also appeared in GOOD,Women's Adventure and Matador Sports, among others. With degrees from Cornell University and Fordham Law School, she's also a part-time lawyer and yoga teacher who surfs, climbs and travels to do both. Twitter:@hussainity

James Cameron Takes on World's Largest Sea Trench

Hollywood director James Cameron is extreme — there's no other word that accurately describes him. In case you needed more proof than his ridiculous Hollywood track record — he was the director of Titanic and Avatar, the two highest grossing films of all time — Cameron is now set to break the world record for deepest solo sub pilot dive (a record previously held by none other than James Cameron).

Cameron's attempt is sponsored by National Geographic (in case you didn't know, Cameron is an "explorer-in-residence" at NatGeo) and has been named the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition, which is a totally sweet and action-packed name. In preliminary testing off the coast of Papua New Guinea earlier this week, Cameron set the record for deepest solo mission at 5.1 miles below sea level. In a matter of weeks, he plans on soloing at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 6.8 miles below sea level.

The entire crew of the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition will be following in the footsteps of the 1960 Trieste two-man expedition, which successfully reached the bottom of the Trench despite a cracked outer window.

In case you were suspecting that Cameron would bring down a 3D camera to capture the whole experience, you would be predictably right. Beyond collecting samples for scientific experiments, Cameron will be creating a feature-length documentary about the experience, probably falling somewhere between his late '80s deep-sea thriller, The Abyss and his more recent documentaries on deep sea diving, Aliens of the Deep and Ghosts of the Abyss (in which Cameron revisited the Titanic wreck).

You can follow the expedition at www.deepseachallenge.com and read a detailed letter in which Cameron subtly brags to Trieste explorer Don Walsh about his latest test dive: "You'd have loved it. . . . JC."

-Justin Cohn

Time-lapse Photographers Reveal Yosemite in all its Splendor

Two budding time-lapse photographers, Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty, recently released this sweeping vignette of Yosemite National Park, which has resonated with nature lovers and photo geeks alike:  

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

The Project Yosemite idea was born shortly after Delehanty reached out to Neill over Vimeo and enquired about the technical dolly magic behind his romp from Cottonwood Lakes to Mt. Whitney. Delehanty wondered whether he'd be able to use a similar system for a project he envisioned capturing on Yosemite's Half Dome. 

Neill went a step further and suggested they film the time-lapse in the park together.

Some time in September, the pair rendezvoused for the first time in person at midnight in El Capitan Meadow and began shooting. The beautiful sequence at 1:24 of a climber's flashlight flickering from a crevice in the cliff was filmed later that night.