Revisiting Nature’s “Unifying Patterns”: A Biological Appraisal
Guillaume Lecointre,
Annabelle Aish,
Nadia Améziane,
Tarik Chekchak,
Christophe Goupil,
Philippe Grandcolas,
Julian F. V. Vincent,
Jian-Sheng Sun
Affiliations
Guillaume Lecointre
Institut de Systématique, Évolution et Biodiversité, UMR ISYEB 7205 CNRS MNHN SU EPHE UA, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 50, 45 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
Annabelle Aish
Bioinspire-Museum, Direction Générale Déléguée à la Recherche, l’Expertise, la Valorisation et l’Enseignement (DGD REVE), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 57 Rue Cuvier, CP 17, 75005 Paris, France
Nadia Améziane
Institut de Systématique, Évolution et Biodiversité, UMR ISYEB 7205 CNRS MNHN SU EPHE UA, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 50, 45 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
Tarik Chekchak
Institut des Futurs Souhaitables, 127 Avenue Ledru Rollin, 75011 Paris, France
Christophe Goupil
Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Énergies de Demain (LIED), UMR 8236 CNRS, Université Paris-Cité, 75013 Paris, France
Philippe Grandcolas
Institut de Systématique, Évolution et Biodiversité, UMR ISYEB 7205 CNRS MNHN SU EPHE UA, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 50, 45 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
Julian F. V. Vincent
Nature Inspired Manufacturing Centre, School of Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
Jian-Sheng Sun
Structure et Instabilité des Génomes, UMR 7196—U1154, MNHN CNRS INSERM, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 43 Rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
Effective bioinspiration requires dialogue between designers and biologists, and this dialogue must be rooted in a shared scientific understanding of living systems. To support learning from “nature’s overarching design lessons” the Biomimicry Institute has produced ten “Unifying Patterns of Nature”. These patterns have been developed to engage with those interested in finding biologically inspired solutions to human challenges. Yet, although well-intentioned and appealing, they are likely to dishearten biologists. The aim of this paper is to identify why and propose alternative principles based on evolutionary theory.
