Table 1.

Proposed scientific reformulations of the Biomimicry Institute’s ten “Unifying patterns of nature” for an enlightened bioinspiration.

Biomimicry Institute’s Ten “Unifying Patterns of Nature”	Proposed Scientific Reformulation
1. Nature uses only the energy it needs and relies on freely available energy	In terms of reproduction, both internal and external constraints can lead to higher energy expenditure than might be inferred from observation of adult populations. Evolutionary processes require considerable amounts of energy—either from the organism’s point of view (number of gametes produced) or from the population’s (number of deaths). However, natural selection seems to ultimately favour physiological systems that minimise energy expenditure.
2. Nature recycles all materials	The living world has an extraordinary (but not infallible) capacity to recycle organic material. In any given ecosystem, a diversity of organisms reuse, scavenge, or decompose matter into components taken up by other forms of life. However, “recycling” can take millions of years, and some organic materials have never been “recycled” at all.
3. Nature is resilient to disturbances	Ecosystems and biological entities are resilient to disturbances only within certain limits. At the ecosystem level, once certain disturbance thresholds are crossed, the “identity” of the ecosystem may be changed irreversibly.
4. Nature tends to optimise rather than maximise	Living systems are the result of trade-offs, not optimisation. Populations seem to ‘maximise’ reproduction and offspring, which are later filtered by environmental constraints (biotic and abiotic). Apparent optimisations in terms of species’ physical and behavioural traits would be more accurately described as being the ‘best under the circumstances’.
5. Nature provides mutual benefits	Mutually beneficial relationships are found in living systems, yet they are not necessarily more significant than predation and parasitism.
6. Nature runs on information	Living systems sense and respond to their internal/external environments and communicate in a multitude of different ways (physical, chemical, and behavioural).
7. Nature uses chemistry and materials that are safe for living beings	Whether the chemicals and materials synthesised within biological systems are “safe” depends on the species in question, their life history stage, their environmental context, and, last but not least, the quantity of the chemical compound in question. Nevertheless, almost all are ultimately biodegradable, given sufficient time and the right environmental conditions.
8. Nature builds using abundant resources, incorporating rare resources only sparingly	Most biological materials are inevitably composed of abundant, locally available resources.
9. Nature is locally attuned and responsive	Individual organisms are responsive and often able to acclimatise to new environmental conditions. At the population level, organisms continually adapt to their surroundings through natural selection.
10. Nature uses shape to determine functionality	In biological entities, functionality determines form. Structural complexity, rather than chemical composition, is behind the vast array of multi-functional biological materials found in the natural world.