FULL STORY

Product design, nature's way

Eons of evolution have honed plant and animal life into the most intricately engineered things on the planet. Now a new breed of inventor is reverse-engineering Mother Earth's marvels and turning them into remarkable real-world products.

By Ethan Watters, Business 2.0 Magazine
The fish that flies
BACK NEXT 2 of 3
The fish that flies
The Inventor: Dieter Gürtler (lead concept engineer)

The company: DaimlerChrysler

The innovation: An ultra-aerodynamic concept car

The inspiration: The shape and skeletal structure of the boxfish

Read the full story

1
2
3
MORE FROM BUSINESS 2.0
Who matters now?
Who matters now?
We invite you to vote for the businesspeople who inspire, inform and infuriate you, from CEOs to entrepreneurs to media stars. (more)
100 fastest-growing techs
100 fastest-growing techs
Despite talk of bubbles, the tech sector continues to surge. The companies on our 2007 list are posting eye-popping results. (more)
America's hottest job markets
America's hottest job markets
The great hiring boom is slowing down, but a few choice regions will stay red-hot. You just have to know where to look. (more)
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2013 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2013 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2013. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2013 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2013 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2013 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2013. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2013 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .