(MUSIC) JOAN CARTAN-HANSEN, HOST: If you want to find new ways to deal with crop pests or discover how to make a better medical device, then biomimicry may be the answer.
Let's look at some things we've invented studying insects.
We lose about 20 to 40 percent of our food crops to pests each year.
But Scientists are looking at spiders for a new way to deal with them.
Researchers thought that spider venom might make a good bug killer.
They developed spear, a venom-based pesticide that kills common crop-eaters but doesn't hurt helpful insects like honeybees.
One of nature's most annoying insects is the mosquito.
They're evolved to land on you, pierce your skin with its special mouthpiece called a proboscis and sucking out blood without you even noticing.
Researchers studying mosquito proboscis developed new medical needles for humans.
They're one-tenth the size of the usual needle and they vibrate.
So, nurses don't have to push so hard when they administer a shot.
These insect-inspired needles may mean your next vaccination won't hurt.
For more information about biomimicry, check out the Science Trek website.
You'll find it at ScienceTrek.org.