Week 9: Bio-Inspiration

Bio-inspo

The mountain stone wētā is a nocturnal, flightless relative of grasshoppers. It’s as big as a small mouse. I would include a photo here but it was so gross I didn’t want to look at it on a person’s hand for any longer, so here it is on some rocks.


The very cool thing about this insect is that it can survive being frozen solid for weeks on end, due to the makeup of their blood. I don’t completely understand the science but I am fascinated by it!

“During winter, their haemolymph (insect blood) contains low molecular weight cryoprotectants such as amino acids, especially proline and the disaccharide trehalose. These substances are synthesised during autumn and their concentration decreases again during spring and summer. The amino acids and sugars presumably help to decrease the ice content colligatively; however, they probably also have a direct protective effect on membranes and proteins via direct interaction or by modifying the water layer with the closest proximity to the molecules.” - source

I don’t know how the science would work but I imagine technology based on this process could be helpful in gathering data from enviroments in extreme temperatures, a type of self-heating system.