Author Description

From high-speed kingfisher trains to self-cleaning lotus buildings, discover how nature drives the incredible engine of contemporary innovation. Do the solutions to our most urgent problems lie just outside our front door? The past few decades have seen the rise of a new wave of Biomimicry: scientists and engineers looking to the natural world for answers to a plethora of modern global challenges. Through observation and discovery, nature became an untapped reservoir of solutions and inventions. In Wild Ideas, biomimicry expert Yael Helfman Cohen combines over fifteen years of professional knowledge and environmental insights to outline nature’s true innovative potential. Alongside advanced tools, methodologies, and the fascinating research behind them, Wild Ideas provides a captivating look into biomimicry’s revolutionary impact on our world: How mimicking the structure of sharkskin helped fight bacteria in hospitals; how termites inspired a new form of sustainable buildings; how a desert beetle inspired new technology for water harvesting; and much, much more. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of our world, Wild Ideas is a surprisingly accessible invitation to follow in the footsteps of innovators such as Leonardo Da Vinci and the Wright brothers, and to rediscover nature – “the source of all true knowledge” – with fresh eyes.