Gears in Nature!

[GeoffW1]

Hi,

For a long long while it has been known that there are a few mechanisms which have never been duplicated by Mother Nature. The wheel would be an example, very difficult concept.

Many others such as the lever, wings, hypodermics, suction pads, etc are old news , but now we know that gears exist as well in Nature...

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/the-first-gear-discovered-in-nature-15916433

As an engineer, I am just gobsmacked by this. Think of the evolutionary process needed to come up with sector gears in an insect!

Cheers

[jjjnettie]

:) The Interwebs are abuzz with this today. :)
Totally amazing isn't it?
For all we think we know about nature, she is still able to surprise us.

[gary]

Thanks Geoff,

That is wonderful.



... and to be fabricated on such a miniature scale like relatively recent man-made microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

[AndrewJ]

Gday Geoff

Or you could have motors :-)
I saw a doco a few years back on the systematic breaking down of the intelligent design arguments re certain things found in nature.
( Based on a US school court case )
One was Bacterial Flagellum.
The ID people said it could only have been made/designed by "an entity"
but researchers found several variants which appeared to show there was evolution down several different paths.
Not interested in those arguments either way,
but as a micro motor made by nature, its an astounding bit of work.

Andrew