Nature has been practicing feedback loops for billions of years, and builders are now implementing feedback loops (through advanced programming and sensors) in structures to optimize their performance. While humans have created bigger and longer structures than nature, we still have a lot to learn from nature about optimization.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Cephalopods like cuttlefish and squids can change their skin color quickly and across a broad spectrum, a process researchers are mimicking to make highly-efficient, reflective displays.

PARIS, -- As part of its Earth Day celebrations, the United Nations Environment Programme awarded six individuals and one NGO as 'Champions of the Earth' for their environmental endeavors.

MERCED, Calif. -- A secretion that protects hippos from the sun also keeps insects and microorganisms away, and could be an inspiration for multi-purpose sunblocks.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi have developed a coating that heals its own scratches when exposed to sunlight.

Along with the growth of concern about toxics in everyday products has come a growing number of solutions, a small but promising toolkit of chemical alternatives and design strategies aimed at wringing out the most toxic ingredients -- and, at the same time, improving some products' performance characteristics.

CHANGCHUN, CHINA -- Universities in the U.K. and China have opened a joint research center to bring their work related to biomimicry together.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Researches at the University of Pittsburgh have a developed a way to move small robots and boats with low-energy electrical pulses, copying the way beetle larvae move on water.

Green design, like all things green, has spread into companies big and small and is now found in all sorts of products, packaging, supply chains and architecture. With many actual results being made throughout the year, there was also a hefty dose of support being given to concepts that will no doubt lead to cleaner, greener design innovations.

BERKELEY, Calif. -- The inner layer of mollusks holds the secret to increasing the strength of ceramics, and scientists have been able to copy it with the help of freezing seawater.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Bioengineers at the University of Utah have developed a synthetic version of the sandcastle worm's natural glue, hoping it can be used to repair shattered bones.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- This year's Autodesk University conference includes more classes and discussions on how design software contributes to sustainability and how designers can learn from biomimicry.

A valuable new tool has hit the Web, and it promises to make a wealth of Mother Nature's wisdom available to architects, designers, engineers, and others involved in the creation of products, services, and packaging.