toucan
dr. dolittle | September 20, 2012This is a must-see special from NOVA highlighting nature's secret to creating very strong things: like the beak of a toucan, an abalone shell and a spider's web. It aired last night on PBS (premiered Jan 2011) and I found myself glued to the TV. Scientists are working hard to try to re-create some of nature's amazing strength to help improve existing technologies. One that I found amazing: scientists have been able to create genetically modified sheep to mass produce spider silk, which is reportedly stronger than kevlar!
Watch Making Stuff: Stronger on PBS. See more from NOVA.
If you…
edyong | July 23, 2009Relative to its body size, the huge beak of the toco toucan is the largest of any bird. It allows the toucan to eat both fruit and small animals, and display to both mates and rivals. Darwin himself speculated that it acts as a billboard, shaped by sexual selection to display bright colours that could be attractive to potential mates. But the toucan's bill has another function that has only been discovered. Like the ears of an elephant, the toucan's bill is a radiator.
It certainly has all the characteristics of a biological radiator. It's big and has a surface area that's 25-40 times…