Harvard Study explains How A Beetle Can Help Harvest Water from Atmosphere

To be better prepared for water scarcity in future, researchers are getting help from natural sources, including Namib Desert beetle. They believe a beetle, a cactus and a pitcher plant can tell how to harvest water from atmosphere.

A new study by researchers at Harvard University stated that a new material has been developed on the basis of the Namib Desert beetle’s bumps on its shell which may tell how water can be harvested. The study has been praised by many scientists who believe such methods can help save the world’s areas affected by droughts.

The new method developed by the researchers may tell how to use natural resources to generate water from condensation. The Harvard researchers believe the method could have real world impact.

Anyone can use natural sources to design new methods to help world. There is no limit for who can apply designs, which include nature, to their work, said Erin Connelly of the Biomimicry Institute in Montana. There are several solutions in nature than can be used to solve world’s problem, she continued.

“Our research shows that a complex bio-inspired approach, in which we marry multiple biological species to come up with non-trivial designs for highly efficient materials with unprecedented properties, is a new, promising direction in biomimetics”, said Joanna Alzenberg, materials Science professor at SEAS, in a Harvard press release.

Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) research team has designed the new material after getting inspiration from pitcher plants, a cactus and Namib Desert beetle. They believe the method is capable of solving world’s problems in a new water-harvesting system. According to the team, the system may help harvest water in arid climates.