The field of biomimicry is bringing to light what many of us design proponents have been saying for years -- that nature contains clear examples of design.
"Both man-made and sponge glass fibers “guide light,” said Aizenberg, but nature does it better. Along the length of a sponge’s glass fiber, spines multiply the efficiency of collecting light from nearby biophosphorescent organisms. “You can think of it as a Christmas tree,” she said. “Not just the tip collects light.”
Venus’ Flower Basket illustrates nature’s grasp of optics, said Aizenberg, but it also offers insight into architecture.
The resilient sponge is made of square cells reinforced by strutlike diagonal buttresses. In fact, a very modern principle of design and civil engineering, she said, “is present in this [cellular] structure.”
Secondary note: While we debate over the mechanisms (Darwinism evolution, supernatural agency, etc), the primary fact is that design exists. Regardless of the mechanism, the naturalist needs to account for this design and the fine tuning that we find in nature.
