Picture yourself sporting a pair of blue jeans that makes your butt look great and at the same time could very well save your life by dispensing medication directly into your skin. No, this is not the Twilight Zone or a science fiction movie.
Researchers at the Centre for Biomimetic and Natural Technologies brought to light that the same technology used in nicotine and oral-contraceptive patches will apply to futuristic clothing very soon. They are presently experimenting with apparel that does everything from monitoring heart rates and breathing to moisturizing the skin and diminishing cellulite.
They are basically practicing the science of applying nature’s principles to human engineering and design. If you think about it, the theory has been around for centuries. Leonardo da Vinci copied the wing principles of birds for the designs of his flying machines and the Chinese wanted to manufacture artificial silk 3,000 years ago.
The newest application is an innovative smart-fabric that was developed from pinecones and actually adapts to changing temperatures by opening up when warm and shutting tight when cold. This is exactly how the scales of a pinecone would react in nature, and is just one of the up-and-coming developments in the escalating field of “biomimetics.”
The “breathing” fabric is designed to prevent the wearer from getting hot or cold by regulating itself to both internal and external temperatures. The textile is composed of a layer of thin spikes of wool, or another water-absorbent material, that opens up when it is moistened with sweat. Conversely, the spikes automatically close up again when the layer dries out. A second layer below protects the wearer from the rain. Think about what that could do for women with hot flashes-wow!
Likewise, pine cones use two layers of rigid fibers running in different directions to open and release their seeds when they fall to the ground. The seed discharge is stimulated by the lack of water as they are cut off from the tree.
The so called, “pinecone fabric” will be at the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan from March-November, 2005, and will be representing British Science at the expo.