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Biology - Biomimicry

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Discover more about biomimicry techniques. You will create a presentation covering the following issues: what implication(s) does this have for our species?; how does this alter our thinking of the way we categorize organisms?; are we the first species in history to be directing our own evolution?; what are the implications for the pharmaceutical companies?; Does that place the pharmaceutical companies in the position of being able to engineer and control human life?

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I understand that Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature's best ideas n then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. It has nine rinciples which are the following:
Reward cooperation and make symbiotic relationships work
Fit form to function efficiently
Develop diverse possibilities to find the best solution and survival
Recycle and find a use for everything
Require local expertise
Avoid excesses and "overbuilding"
Tap the power of limits
Utilize the sun and other "natural sources" of energy
Use only the energy and resources that are needed

So we within the human race need to utilize our surroundings to assist in sustainability. As nature understands the ability for survival. For instance, trees within the forest take into consideration the their resources and aspects around them. This is something that us as humans need to learn and adopt from these species to assist with our world which is growing in population at an astounding rate. We could/should utilize the resources around us and understand our resources. So for instance, when erecting new buildings one should attempt to place it in an area where other locations could utilize their wastes as a means to protect the sustainability of the area and/or not erect the skyscrapers which are not needed. As the buildings which feed from one another can assist one another in times of tragedy so all aspects will continue to function. (that is one aspect that I got from the topic anyways)

But some say that it is just a way to make a superhuman race - a way to allow individuals to choose their future offsprings out of a catalogue so to speak. It will provide individuals the ability to live longer and more powerful lives which will only increase the world population problems. (what do you think??)

For instance, Bionics are a common element of science fiction, with The Six Million Dollar Man as the probably best-known example. In the mid-1970s, when scientists in a popular TV series rebuilt a wounded, barely-living test pilot into the world's first bionic man, making him "better, stronger, faster," the field of medical bionics was the stuff of science fiction. No longer. On April 3, at Experimental Biology 2006, some of the leading scientists in the rapidly expanding field of bionics explain how much of what was once fiction is today at least partial reality - including electronically-powered legs, arms, and eyes like those given TV's Six Million Dollar Man 30-plus years ago. The symposium on "The $6 Billion (Hu)Man" is part of the scientific program of the American Association of Anatomists. - Is this considered assisting individuals to lead more normal lives which would have originally not had the opportunity (such as amputees, etc.) or just making the world a more robotic environment and/or superhuman race??

These are the areas that I am stuck upon and am looking for assistance. As I think (after research) it would assist the pharmaceutical companies in allowing them to find cures for otherwise incurable diseases - but would it allow them to engineer and control human life?? I would say no - as one is now passing the power of life to the individual and away from pills and medication - but then again I could be incorrect in that aspect.

Any/all assistance would be greatly appreciated.

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Several approaches are needed to be undertaken in developing a presentation of this nature.

One would be to address bio-mimicry as a definitive principle as well as present synonymous terms like bio-materials/bio-synthetics, secondary metabolites, tissue engineering/bioengineering, etc. In this regard I think based on your description of bio-mimicry and my understanding of the subject that you are well in hand.

The particular question you have presented contains two aspects that can be addressed under two topics:

The first is to describe the contribution "BioPharmaceutical Corporations" can provide to a scientific exploration of bio-mimicry and how this type of research and development may lead to additional drug discoveries outside the realm of bio-mimetics. It would be important to discern the objective nature of scientific investigation by Public Academics and those of research and development in BioPharma Corps.

This inevitably leads to the second question which seems to surround moral, ethical and social aspects of the consequences of sentient intervention in evolutionary biology, disease pathology and etiology.

Several implications in the development of bio materials are available for mankind. Predominately, these consistently point toward a means of help, hope and hype. We can utilize the discoveries we invent either by modeling or imitating nature to develop novel approaches to treating diseases and injury. For instance a severely torn ligament in a professional football player might mean the end of their career however, reconnection using an artificial ligament based on spider silk could help the athletes recovery. Hope can come from the ability to utilize bio materials to form replacement cardiac valves in patients with valvular stenosis. The problem comes when the hype of therapies and recoveries overwhelms the practical slow progress that is associated with what are still unreasonable expectations given the current state of research in the world today.
BioPharma are interested in utilizing novel techniques to bring about new methods of drug delivery, drug design and vaccination against disease for example drug eluting stents that can reduce the ...

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