What people can learn from animals. Calf tenderness: what can a person learn from animals? Amazing capabilities of insects

Almost everything that man invented already existed in nature. The dragonfly was before the helicopter, the fish before the submarines, the web before all materials, and the stems and trees before the skyscrapers. Today we will tell you how and what man learned from nature.

Swim like a fish

Sea animals have inspired many inventions. Their streamlined shape served as a prototype for the creation of ships, submarines, and atomic bombs.

Shark skin, covered with small scales, has become the basis for the development of energy-saving coatings for airliners, ships and wind turbine blades. According to the calculations of German development scientists, if you cover airplanes and sea vessels with this material - a special paint that reduces flow resistance, you can save up to 4.5 million tons of fuel in flights and about 2000 tons per year in sea voyages.

Now scientists from Harvard University are trying to recreate the skin of a mako shark using 3D printing, their ultimate goal is to produce a high-tech diving suit that will reduce water resistance.

Another modern know-how: a reconnaissance robot resembling a black knifefish that lives in the bottom waters of the Amazon. The robot, developed by American engineers, borrowed from the knifeworm the unique ability to navigate in complete darkness. Researcher Malcolm McIver studied sensory and propulsion systems these fish for many years. He found out that for orientation, the knifebird sends a weak electrical impulse created by a special organ, and for movement it makes wave-like movements with its long lower fin. Both of these properties have been “donated” to new robotic divers who will be able to conduct reconnaissance in hard-to-reach and poorly lit places, such as sunken ships.

The tropical yellow spotted fish with its unusual shape inspired Mercedes-Benz to create the Bionic Car, which follows the shape of the fish and thanks to it moves with great efficiency.

Fly like a bird

Birds, butterflies, dragonflies and other insects have long inspired people to create a variety of aircraft. One of the pioneers of aviation, Leonardo da Vinci, sketched the flights of birds. different breeds and bats and tried to recreate their method of movement. In 1487 he developed the ornithopper, a flying machine based on bird flight. Another idea of ​​da Vinci is retractable staircases, the prototype for which are the legs of a swift. And although the machines invented by da Vinci never flew, the ideas borrowed from nature were eventually implemented by other inventors of aircraft.

For example, the dragonfly became the prototype of the helicopter. Like an insect, a car takes off from a place without a preliminary run, “hangs” in the air, and lands without a run. Its amazing flying abilities inspired, in particular, the inventor Igor Sikorsky. One of his helicopters was almost an exact copy dragonflies: the scientist had at his disposal 2,000 computer-recreated maneuvers of dragonflies in the air.

Currently, French engineers are trying to bring the design of an aircraft wing as close as possible to the wings of large birds of prey. “This will increase the lift of the aircraft at low speeds, reduce air resistance, energy costs for flight, and perhaps even noise levels, affecting the level of turbulence of flows,” explains developer Marianne Braza, who presented the new wing this year. One of the know-hows is thin plates that vibrate and reduce turbulence - in birds this task is performed by small feathers located on the trailing edge of the wings.

See like a cat

Man learned to see in the dark from cats and owls. The principles of their vision were used in the development of night vision devices.

Cat's eyes formed the basis of another invention - the reflector. It was invented by the Englishman Percy Shaw when he saw the reflection of his car's headlights in the eyes of a cat on a dark highway. Invention " cat eye"was patented in 1934 and soon appeared on UK roads, increasing their safety.

Catch ultrasound like a bat

Bats helped scientists discover echolocation - a method of determining the position of an object in space by the delay time of the return of the reflected wave. The discoverer was the Italian naturalist and physicist Lazzaro Spallanzani: at the end of the 18th century, he observed the movements of bats in a dark room and noticed that these animals were perfectly oriented. During the experiment, he blinded several individuals and found that they flew just as well as sighted ones. After the experience of his colleague, who sealed the ears of bats with wax and stated that they bump into all objects, it became obvious that these animals navigate by hearing. This knowledge came in handy only in the 20th century, when ultrasound became known. Scientists have created a number of instruments, including sonar for underwater objects and the seabed. Not only are they capable of echolocation the bats, but also whales and dolphins, to a lesser extent some birds (guajaros, swiftlets), shrews and the Madagascar tenrec hedgehog.

Recently, British engineers from the University of Southampton introduced a new type of radar that will allow skiers to be rescued from avalanches and miners from underground rubble. The author of the project, Timothy Liton, came up with this device after being surprised by the superpowers of dolphins: they navigate even in muddy water Thanks to the emitted impulses, they accurately find food.

Change color like a chameleon

Many animals can change color and blend in environment. This ability was borrowed by the creators of camouflage. Developments in this area continue. For example, in January 2014, American scientists from Harvard University reported that they were studying the ability to change colors in cuttlefish - they hope that this research will help improve protective clothing for soldiers.

Later, a team of scientists from the universities of Houston and Illinois presented a material that analyzes the environment and automatically changes its own color, adjusting to the background color. The source for the development was cephalopods: octopuses, squids and cuttlefish.

Stick like a gecko

The “sticky” paws of the gecko formed the basis of know-how from scientists from Stanford University. They came up with special gloves with suction cups that anyone can use to climb a vertical wall. Silicone suction cups, like a gecko's paws, are covered with thousands of hairs, and thanks to intermolecular attraction (van der Waals forces), the material seems to stick to the surface. The tests took place this year and were similar to filming a Spider-Man movie.

Stick like a burdock

Burdock with its small hooks and hooks became the prototype of textile fastener - Velcro. It was invented by the Swiss naturalist and engineer Georges de Mistral, when he was cleaning his dog from burdocks after a walk in the mountains in 1948 and wondered why it was so difficult to peel these plant fruits from the fur.

Stick like clams

Sticky fish, shellfish, sea worms and many other living organisms on the planet have the ability to produce a super sticky substance. It was they who prompted people to invent glue. IN Lately scientists are improving the adhesive substance: the latest development from Harvard University is superglue based on mollusk mucus for “patching” the walls of the heart and blood vessels. Know-how from American scientists - an artificial glue for operations on the intrauterine fetus, recreating the properties of the mucus of the sea worms Phragmatopoma californica.

Weave webs like a spider

Spider thread is incredibly strong: it is five times stronger than steel. According to scientists' calculations, it could even stop an airliner if it were the thickness of a pencil. It is not surprising that people have long tried to recreate spider thread. And eventually they were able to produce equally durable materials, such as polyacrylonitrile. But scientists went even further: at the University of Utah, spider genes were added to the DNA of a goat, as a result, spider webs can be filtered out of milk. In 2011, Dutch scientists tried to go even further: they combined artificial leather with webbing obtained from the milk of genetically modified goats to create a bulletproof fabric that, in tests, repelled 5.56-caliber bullets. Their plans included implanting webs into human skin, but so far nothing is known about the appearance of Spider-Man.

Get light like fireflies

Recently, Korean engineers studied the nanostructure of the abdomen of fireflies and created super-bright and more efficient LEDs based on it: to do this, they changed the microstructure of the LED surface, increasing its transparency. About how else the properties of fireflies and other luminous animals are used.

“Of course, man, although he feels like the pinnacle of creation, is an extremely fragile creature in the physical sense,” says Nikolay Drozdov, professor at Moscow State University, doctor biological sciences, host of the program “In the Animal World”. -

Read each other's thoughts

Elephants, in moments of nervous shock, bring their trunks to each other's heads. It is assumed that in this way they are able to quickly transfer knowledge to each other.

There are no other people's children

Almost all types of animals are capable of adopting other people's pets. Let's not mention these rare cases, When domestic dog feeds kittens. But a baby elephant that strays from its herd will certainly be accepted by another herd, and the female chosen by him will take on the mother’s responsibilities in full without any further questions, even to the point of being willing to sacrifice her life for the well-being of the baby. The lost human cub will be warmed not only wild dogs, but also a herd of deer. Proven.

Improve species diversity

Seals have many more males than females. Therefore, the female annually changes the male, allowing him to raise the young born in their marriage. The seal has no chance of being the husband of the same female again. That is why, at the end of the season, males often attempt to kill their girlfriend - so that she does not go to another. Of course, from the point of view of human morality, such flighty females deserve censure.

We suggest talking about those useful qualities ah, which animals possess, and which it was good for each of us to learn from them.

1. Learn from a woodpecker how to focus

Some of you may be thinking, well, what kind of stupid bird chatters all day? But in vain. When a woodpecker knocks on a tree, he does it very successfully and, most importantly, consciously.

In order to continue hollowing out a hollow, the woodpecker selects one point on the tree, which it begins to hollow. The bird focuses on hitting the same place until it gets to the worms and never gives up its goal before getting the desired result.

2. Learn from the fish the ability to swim against the current

Few people know, but fish always swim against the current. Its goal is simple - to let as much water, food and oxygen pass by as possible.

Some people would also do well to take up this habit and start moving forward, leaving their usual comfort zone. As the experience of many shows successful businessmen, sometimes ideas that are not accepted by society later turn out to be among the most successful and worthwhile. The main thing is not to be afraid to challenge your point of view in time and not to abandon the work you started at the beginning of the journey.

3. Learn from a dog - to be able to enjoy life for nothing

In fact, of course, dogs have many more useful qualities that it would be nice for humans to learn. But the ability to enjoy every day and have fun just like that is perhaps one of the main things that I would like to learn from them.

Life becomes much simpler and happier when we stop expecting sky-high heights from it and let go of everything that gnaws at us. Only the person who knows how and is not afraid to take small breaks for himself, regardless of the number of accumulated tasks, can be truly happy. Life is Beautiful. Isn't this a reason to forget about your worries for at least a couple of hours a day and just try to be yourself a little?

4. Learn from a cat - always know your worth

Anyone who has a cat probably knows that the cat is the main animal in the house. It is not he who lives with you, it is you who came to his house. Cats know how to assert themselves and not allow themselves to be insulted or treated in a way they don't like.

It is perhaps difficult to find another animal as self-sufficient and independent as a cat. Cats never do anything they don’t like, don’t pay attention to other people’s opinions, and, of course, don’t allow themselves to be insulted.

5. Learn from everyone - live in the moment

Can not be bad days, It happens Bad mood, to which we provoke ourselves. Be that as it may, no one would like to live less, so learn from animals the ability to appreciate every day you live.

Just as in every walk in the yard, which is familiar to the smallest detail, the dog finds something interesting, learn to see the meaning in every day you live. And if something suddenly goes wrong in your life, just remember the animals, and perhaps then you will immediately see that you can find something interesting in your daily routine, you just need to put a little effort into it.

There are so many things we can learn from our pets. You just need to watch more closely...

And a position at a higher level in the food chain is not a reason to think that there is nothing to learn from our smaller brothers. Humans tend to think of themselves as the pinnacle of evolution, thanks to their powerful brains and flexible thumbs.

When we are recommended to take an example from someone, it seems to us that we ourselves have a mustache. Each of us has some degree of jealousy, competitiveness, or a sense of superiority that accompanies ordinary human relationships.

Unlike us, animals show more simplicity and loyalty. Their presence in our lives gives us peace and joy, not clouded by resentment or hostility, doubts and mistrust. In their company we feel easy and at ease. Let us open our minds to take them as an example of simplicity.

First, we must feel independent. People who need approval should take a closer look at the behavior of their beloved cat. Cats are considered independent animals. And we will feel the effect of a mystical wave if we include this feline feature in our behavior. Being an open book does not mean putting yourself at risk and digging your own grave. Watch what you say, keep your wallet tucked deep in your chest pocket, and don't give anyone the keys to your emotions. Enjoy your own company and love yourself before you try it on someone else.

Next, learn to master the art of silent communication. Our pets are extremely perceptive to the emotional changes that their owners are subject to. Animal owners can give many examples of the manifestation of sympathy on the part of smaller brothers, especially in difficult periods life. Likewise, we must read the unspoken signals we receive from people around us and act accordingly. Increasing our level of receptivity and responsiveness may require some effort on our part, but it is worth it.

The ability to let go is another precious quality. With animals, everything is instantaneous - be it happiness or sadness. They live in the present moment. The outburst of anger in animals lasts until the next impression comes. And so! They put an end to the past, clearing themselves of the remnants of indignation. Animals are not anchored by hostility; they never harbor evil or thoughts of revenge. And although they have an uncanny ability to remember certain incidents, animals almost always forgive and forget. When was the last time you sincerely did this?

Always push forward better leg. Cat owners know how much time they devote to self-grooming. These graceful creatures may hiss and spit at you when angry, but in other moods they are the epitome of calm. Their "me first" attitude towards things can be perceived by those who care about everyone and everything except themselves. Working moms, in particular, need to understand that devoting a little time to yourself does not mean that you are stealing that time and not enough good mom or a worker.

Translation and photos from buzzle.com

Municipal educational institution "Secondary school No. 9"

Research

What a person can learn

in animals?

Completed by: student of 1st “A” class

Ulyana Eliseeva

Head: teacher primary classes O. A. Malysheva

Helped: Yu. A. Eliseeva

Saransk

2011–2012 academic year year

I. Introduction

In the vast and boundless Universe, our planet Earth is unique - there is life on it. The living world of the Earth is extremely diverse: today science knows 1.5 million species of animals, and each of them is adapted to its environment in its own way. And yet, man is traditionally considered the pinnacle of evolution. Looking through one of the volumes of the encyclopedia for children published by Avanta+, I found the lines of the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles that surprised me:

There are many miracles in the world,

Man is the most wonderful of them all.

Is man really the most important miracle of the Earth? After all, he does not know how to do many of the things that representatives of the animal world can do. Thus, the golden bee-eater bird can fly over vast distances, expending an amount of energy equal to approximately 10 grams of fuel. Not even the most modern helicopter can compete in maneuverability with an ordinary dragonfly, and the ventilation and heat regulation system created by blind termites in a termite mound is several times superior in energy savings to all systems created by humans. The multi-frequency transmitter that bats are endowed with is better in its sensitivity and efficiency than any radar built by people... But man is superior to animals in his mind and intellect.

From these reflections the topic of my research was born: “What can a person learn from animals?” First I set myself target :

 find out what modern man can usefully borrow from his “smaller brothers”, and...

 how animal lessons influence his life.

The set goal required the solution of a number of research tasks:

1. Find and study popular scientific literature on the topic of research:

– encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books;

– articles in newspapers and magazines;

– Internet materials.

2. Observe wild animals at the zoo and organize a mini-experiment: arrange a competition between me and my dog ​​Tom to find out who should learn from whom.

3. Collect a collection of objects created by man by analogy with the animal world.

4. Identify areas in which humans are still losing to animals, get acquainted with the most important developments based on the use of their individual properties and abilities, and also make a rating of the most promising research areas.

Although I am in first grade and am just beginning to comprehend the basics of scientific research, I would like to organize a real experiment myself, observe animals, compare their behavior with the behavior of people, and draw conclusions. I think this will be useful for the “I am a researcher” class, which I really like.

Before starting the study, I talked with my mother, who has been studying for a long time scientific work, and learned that any research begins with hypotheses, that is, assumptions about the results. Together we put forward two hypotheses , which will compete with each other during the study:

– animals can teach people a lot in the most different areas their activities, and this process can generate many interesting discoveries;

– man is the “king of nature”, and it is stupid for him to learn from animals that are inferior to him in intelligence.

Object of study– the animal world of the planet as a source of human discoveries and inventions.

Subject of study– properties and abilities of animals that people can use in technology, medicine, architecture and other fields.

I also learned that my research had to follow a specific plan, and I developed one.

Study plan

1. Identify and study materials on the research topic.

2. Conduct observations and organize an experiment.

3. Create a subject collection specific to the research topic.

5. Summarize the information found.

II. Research stage according to plan

In my home library there are quite a few books and films (documentary and fiction) about animals, because I am interested in their world. However, after looking through the available materials, I did not find necessary information. Therefore onfirst stage of the studyit was necessary to use the resources of libraries - the school library, the Mordovian Republican Children's Library and even Scientific library them. M. M. Bakhtin Mordovsky state university them. N. P. Ogareva. It turned out that the topic I had chosen relates to such a relatively new science, How bionics . Its name brings together such widely separated fields as biology and technology. I came up with a simple formula:

In biological encyclopedias and reference books I found the following definition:

Bionics is a science that studies the application of the properties and functions of living beings in technical devices. That is, bionics takes nature’s best inventions and uses them for the benefit of humans.

I also learned that there are several areas in bionics:

 biomimetics (imitation of living nature);

 neurobionics (studying the functioning of the brain, memory mechanisms, sensory organs of animals to create artificial intelligence);

 architectural and construction bionics(use of the principles of the structure of living beings in architecture and construction).

Biomimetics aroused my greatest interest. It turns out that even primitive people carefully observed animals and imitated them in some ways. For example, in ancient chopping and cutting tools stones shaped like sharp teeth bear

Plows in Ancient world they dug the earth like a pig or a mole, without turning over the layers.

But borrowings became especially pronounced later, during the study of bird flight and the design of the first aircraft. Everyone knows the beautiful ancient Greek myth about Icarus, who made his wings from bird feathers, held together with wax, but never able to rise to the Sun. The brilliant Renaissance artist and engineer Leonardo da Vinci tried to build an aircraft with flapping wings like birds - an ornithopter. But this idea was not brought to life, because there was no light and powerful engine that would drive the wings.

It is interesting that today Leonardo’s ideas are again in demand in aircraft construction: designers are introducing the principle of morphing - transforming aircraft wings to make them more similar to real ones. Thus, bionics is a science that has a rich history and continues to actively develop at the present time.

Further, in accordance withsecond stage of the study, I decided to watch the behavior of wild animals. To do this, my mother and I went to the Saransk Zoo. I've been there many times, but never noticed it before special attention on the abilities of its inhabitants. Of course, they cannot fully manifest themselves in cells, but some animal features are still noticeable. For example, the coloring of a tiger in the form of black stripes serves as camouflage: thanks to it, the tiger is less noticeable in the jungle. The man used this technique in camouflage clothing.

Lynx in one of the cages

current was able to jump straight from the floor onto a fairly high platform:

any athlete poses

I would have seen such springiness! Camel from-

It has enormous endurance and can store moisture in its humps.

I decided to add to my observations experiment . I have a dog, Tom, who really loves sausages. I took the plastic packaging from the Kinder Surprise, let Tom smell the sausage and placed it in a tightly sealed container. Then Tom and I left the room, and Mom hid the sausage. When we walked in, Tom immediately started sniffing. I tried to do this too, but I didn’t feel anything. We started looking for sausage together, but Tom got ahead of me. He found the container in 45 seconds.

To explain my defeat, I turned to popular science literature and found out that dogs live in a world of smells. If our nose brings us less than 1% of all information about the world around us, then dogs navigate precisely by smells, and their eyes, on the contrary, give them little information: it turns out that they do not distinguish colors, they see their surroundings in black and white. Due to their well-developed sense of smell, dogs are often used in mineral exploration: they successfully distinguish minerals located deep underground and containing chromium, magnesium, aluminum, copper, silver, and gold. IN last years Scientists are working on creating a so-called “electronic nose” that could be widely used in medicine and the chemical industry.

Yes, humans really have a lot to learn from animals! I decided to compile a small collection of objects that people came up with thanks to the “lesser brothers”, which became the contentthird stage of the study. I grouped the items into pairs: natural analogue- a human invention. Here's what's in the collection:

1. Bird feather + zipper(the feather has barbs of various orders, equipped with hooks that provide a reliable grip; the zipper uses the same principle of connecting teeth).

2. Snail (shell) + grater(the snail's tongue is equipped with a radula - a kind of grater, covered with 25 thousand chitinous teeth, with the help of which it scrapes off food and then swallows. The technique of grinding food is also used in the grater).

3. Fish swim bladder + balloon(the fish’s bladder is filled with gas and helps it stay at a certain depth; a balloon is also a shell filled with air / a certain gas).

4. Spider web + fishing net(a spider secretes a special substance from its glands and weaves a web to catch insects in it; a person weaves a net from threads or ropes to catch fish).

5. Bee sting + syringe(the thin sting of insects served as a prototype for a medical syringe with a needle).

6. Bird's nest + basket(the principle of interlacing twigs and branches was used by man to create baskets).

My collection will certainly be expanded in the future. I would like my classmates to help me with this. Then this project will become a collective one.

As my work progressed, I became more and more immersed in amazing world bionics, and perhaps the most exciting thing for me wasfourth stage of the study, which consisted of creating a kind of rating of the most advanced areas of this science.

1st place is a problem immortality . It has worried humanity for thousands of years, but no one has yet managed to become immortal. Meanwhile, in living nature there are such unique ones. For example, a sea urchin living in the Red Sea is practically immortal: it does not age, but simply grows, increasing in size. Another example of a biological “perpetual motion machine” is the freshwater hydra. Near its tentacles there is a zone of constantly dividing cells that move down the body, displacing the old ones. Maybe someday scientists will discover a recipe for immortal life for humans too.

2nd place – phenomenon echolocation . Some animals, in particular dolphins, bats, Guinea pigs, rats use echolocation to navigate in space, that is, they recognize sound waves, reflected by surrounding objects. It turns out that people can also develop this ability. This is important for blind people who need to learn how to navigate in space without the help of vision. Sensitive echolocators can also be useful in creating ultra-long-distance space communications.

3rd place - useelectrical impulses. Huge problem modern society- mass death of people in car accidents. How to prevent car collisions? Nature again provides the solution: a swarm of locusts, numbering millions of individuals, moves in concert, and the insects never collide due to the weak electrical impulses they emit. The same principle will prevent cars from colliding on highways.

4th place – improvementaircraft flight systems, for example, eliminating noise and turbulence in air flows around the wings. The researchers turned to owls, which are famous for their silent flight. It turned out that this is achieved due to the structure of feathers.

The use of natural inventions in the field of aircraft construction will help improve the performance of flying machines.

5th place – reflective technology. Butterflies, distinguished by the varied and beautiful colors of their wings, do not have coloring pigments: the color is formed due to the fact that the wings are covered with thin transparent scales that reflect rays of a certain length. Designers paid attention to this property, and have already developed special composition for covering cars that can change color. In the field of military technology, it will be possible to create self-masking means that are invisible to the enemy.

III. Conclusion

Having studied popular scientific literature on the topic, conducted observations and experiments, formed a subject collection and built a rating promising directions science, I came to conclusion that man, despite his special position in the world, should not forget about his kinship with animals and consider that he has reached the heights of knowledge. On one of the Internet sites I found beautiful words, fully expressing this idea: “The fact that we descended from monkeys is confirmed by our unique ability to copy everything from nature. We have observed in birds the ability to rise above the clouds and even surpassed them, although we do not have wings. We have adopted from fish the ability to swim and dive into depths unimaginable even for them, and we do not care about the lack of gills. We have learned to move faster than the fastest animal, despite the fact that this is not provided for by our anatomy. We are already able to see more clearly than any living creature on the planet, and even in the dark. We have mastered the talent of digging such holes underground that moles, if they were sighted, would not know where to put their eyes from shame - they are such amateurs. Grasshoppers, jumping tens of times higher than their height, compared to us who jumped to the moon, simply twitch in place. Over the past few centuries, we have acquired almost all the abilities that were not given to us, we continue to improve them and acquire new ones.”

All these abilities are acquired thanks to man’s contact with the world of living nature. Thus, I believe that the hypothesis that animals can teach people a lot in various areas of their activity has been confirmed and has been proven in the course of work. The hypothesis that man is the “king of nature” and it is stupid for him to learn from animals that are inferior to him in intelligence has been refuted.

During the research, I became interested in the problem of human understanding of animals, without which it is difficult to deeply penetrate the secrets of their life. Search common language between humans and animals is the intended topic of my future research.

Sources

1. Architectural bionics / ed. Yu. S. Lebedeva. – M.: Stroyizdat, 1990. – 269 p.

2. Biology: encyclical. for children. – M.: Avanta+, 2007. – 456 p. : ill.

3. Litinetsky, I. B. Bionics / I. B. Litinetsky. – M.: Education, 1976. – 336 p. : ill.

4. Bionics [Electronic resource]: [material from Wikipedia]. - Electron. Dan. – [B. m.], 2011. – Access mode:http://ru.wikipedia.org. – Access date: 10/16/2011.

5. Sudak, I. Is it possible to learn immortality from animals? [Electronic resource] / I. Sudak // School of life: learning. magazine - Electron. Dan. – [M.], 2008. – Access mode:http://www.shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-12537

6. What can a person learn from animals? [Electronic resource]. - Electron. Dan. – [M., 200-]. - Access mode:http://www.epochtimes.ru/content/view/32994/7. – Access date: 10/21/2011.

7. What is biomimetics? [Electronic resource]. - Electron. Dan. – [M.], 2008. – Access mode:http://www.cleandex.ru/articles/2008/07/07/biomimetic-1. – Date of access: 10/10/2011.