News and Ideas from the Biomimicry Institute
Why We Evolved Ray of Hope from a Prize to an Accelerator
We know that to have a healthy and resilient ecosystem we need the entire system to work together. There cannot be one winner. The Ray of Hope Accelerator will support the technologies, industries, and people needed to help create a world that looks like and operates like a healthy and regenerative ecosystem. By learning from 3.8 billion years of evolution, we are confident that we can create a nature-positive world.
More Stories
The Extractive & Toxic Nature of Color, and How Biomimicry Can Solve This
At first glance, the importance of replacing existing pigments and dyes with nature-inspired alternatives may not be obvious. The environmental impacts from pigments are hard to quantify, but it is a $20 billion industry heavily reliant on mining and high energy usage.
The Bizarre Genius of a Brainless Blob
It’s been a consultant for NASA, shot at by police and mistaken for an alien. How slime mold—a brainless, single-celled organism—mapped the dark universe, keeps challenging the top minds to rethink intelligence, and has an ability to fill us with wonder beyond the human kind.
Slime Mold 101: Meet the Genius Without a Brain
Slime mold’s party tricks are proving to be laced with valuable intel we wouldn’t have without them.
Watch a No-Brained Blob Think Out Loud
Slime mold’s oddities are balanced by behavior that is ultra-relatable—they are ruled by food! Case in point: A hungry individual is avoided more by its peers than a poisoned one. Humans are now looking to the hardwired programming that gets them fed ASAP to feed the next big innovation.
Your Next Flight May Be Designed by Slime Mold and Human Bones
No one would guess human bones and slime mold would lead a design trend. Definitely not a billion dollar one. But the epically odd duo earned seats at the design table, and the results make you wonder why every design team doesn’t consult them from the start.
Beyond EV and AI: Is Slime Mold Driving the Future of Car Innovation?
No powerful limbs. No aerodynamic wings. So slow, movement can only be noticed with a timelapse video. So why are the experts turning to slime mold for mobility breakthroughs?
Is a Blob Capable of Rethinking Our Built World Without Bias, Boundaries—or a Brain?
They’ve mapped rail systems, nervous systems, the cosmos and gave us a fresh take on Paris. But how? And what does this mean for future cities and how we live in them?
How a Brainless Blob Mapped the Dark Cosmos
A single cell guided the world’s top scientists through another universe and its only limitations were our own.
Can Brainless Life Have Answers That We Don’t?
What does it mean when the most powerful and well-funded organizations, NASA to the United Nations, turn to a brainless blob for answers?
Nature in the Classroom: A Conversation with Dorna Schroeter, a Biomimicry Educator
Join Kat Sitnikova in an enlightening conversation with Dorna Schroeter, a biomimicry educator and long-time supporter and friend of the Biomimicry Institute.
Strong by Form Raises $5.2M for an Eco-Friendly Alternative to Concrete and Steel
2022 Ray of Hope Prize Finalist, Strong by Form, announces the completion of a $5.2 million seed funding round.
Biomimicry and the Sea: 5 Incredible Innovations for World Oceans Day
This World Oceans Day, we are diving deeper into the myriad reasons why the preservation of our oceans and sea life is of paramount importance.
Living World Intervention
The Biomimicry Institute hosts nature retreats as part of their Ray of Hope and Launchpad programs. It’s like summer camp for bio-inspired innovators. What Launchpad Program Manager Dave Hutchins came to understand while hosting our 2023 Launchpad cohort in Montana, is that these retreats are more like an intervention.
Meet the Newest Young Innovators in Biomimicry
From tackling the issues of microplastics and urban heat islands, to addressing clean energy solutions through the use of wind turbines and underwater solar panels, the Biomimicry Institute’s 2022-23 Youth Design Challenge (YDC) winners have offered unique, nature-inspired ideas to solve local design challenges. The YDC, now in its sixth year, serves as a bridge from core concepts to advanced project-focused STEM learning for middle and high school students across the world.