LS1001- Biology

2 Credits (2-0-0)
 Course Teacher
Dr. Surajit Das, Professor
[email protected]; Mob: 9556425605
 LS1001- Biology
2 Credits (2-0-0)
Introduction to biology, Cell Theory, Structure and function of
the Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cell. Cell division, Cell cycle.
(10 hrs)

Structure and Function of Proteins, Carbohydrates, Lipids. (2

hrs)

Central Dogma of Molecular Biology- Nucleic Acids, DNA

Replication, Transcription and Translation. (3 hrs)

Disease Biology- Host-microbe interaction, bacterial toxin,

chemotherapy; Applied Biology- Gene cloning, Restriction
enzymes, Plasmid. (8 hrs)
Classes on: Thursday & Friday
 Detailed Syllabus

1. Procaryotic and Eukaryotic cells: i) What is life? ii)

Introduction to biology, iii) Classification of organisms, iv) Structure
of cells & Cell size and shape, v) Cell organelle
2. Cell cycle and cell divisions: i) Cell theory, ii) Cell cycle and
cell division,
3. Biomolecules: Structure and function of i) Protein, ii)
Carbohydrate iii) Lipids
4. Central dogma: i) Intro to DNA; ii) DNA replication, iii)
Transcription, iv) Translation
5. Disease biology: i) Host-microbe interaction (normal flora), ii)
Pathogenesis & virulence (bacterial toxin), iii) Physical and chemical
control of microorganisms, iv) Mode of action of antibiotics and
Antibiotic resistance
6. Applied biology (RDT): i) Intro to RDT (case studies), ii) Steps
involved in gene cloning & Positive clone selection iii) Restriction
enzymes iv) Cloning vectors
What is Biology?
• Biology (Greek or Latin origin)
• Bios = life
• The study of life
• Logos = study of
• The science of living things

Why study Biology?

• Biology is related to our everyday experiences (e.g. advancement of
medical facilities, addressing everyday needs of growing human
population etc.)

• Biology is comprised of a series of engineering problems which

have been solved by ‘Nature’ – Nature is the greatest engineer

• Any implications of biology in engineering/technology ???

Engineering Designs Inspired by Examples in
Biology - Biomimicry
• Some engineering designs and technological innovations are
designed by adopting examples from biology or nature. These
are termed as biomimicry. The bumps, or “tubercles,” on the blade's
• Also known as biomimetics. leading edge reduce noise, increase its
• Examples: stability, and enable it to capture more
energy from the wind
• Windmill turbine blades
• Shinkansen bullet train of Japan
• Cat’s eye
• SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging)
• Sharklet
Windmill turbine blades ‘tubercles’, the large
• New generation solar cell bumps on humpback
• etc whale
The tubercles create even, fast-moving
channels of water flowing over them so
that they can move through the water at
sharper angles. This was mimicked in
turbine blades.
 The Shinkansen

 Japan’s fastest bullet train that runs at a

speed of about ~300 km/hr
 Redesigned by providing the train a long
beak-like shape in the front like that of the
Kingfisher bird
 Redesigning reduces any noise or ‘sonic
boom’ while passing through tunnels
which it used to generate when it had a
blunted front due to the displacement of air
ahead of the trains
 Reduced electricity consumption but
enhanced the speed by 10%.
Cat’s Eye

 Cats can see in the dark unlike us, because

of the presence of a reflective layer called
the ‘tapetum lucidium’ in their eyes.
 Based on this concept, Cat’s Eyes - small
metal implants on the road are designed.
 Cat’s Eyes (road) have reflective surfaces
that reflect the light from the headlights of
cars and aids in showing the turnings and
edges of the roads in the dark.
 SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging)

 Can locate objects in military operations.

 Can locate path of the drill precisely while drilling under seas.
 Aids in navigation and communications in submarines.
 This device is designed mimicking echolocation of bats.
 Bats emit an ultrasonic sound (not heard by us) which bounces off their
surroundings and returns to them, helping them locate and catch preys like
insects precisely.
Sharklet
 Material known as “Sharklet” is used on ships to inhibit the growth of marine
microbes on its surface.
 This was designed mimicking the pattern of ‘dermal denticles’ of Shark skin.
The microscopic “dermal denticles” help the Shark to create a low-pressure
zone that enables it to move forward with less drag and fend-off
microorganisms unlike other aquatic species.
 New generation solar cell – inspired from butterfly wings

 Prepared from synthetic polymers

with nanoholes mimicking wings of
rose butterfly.
 This design enhanced the light
harvesting efficiency of solar cell
two times because this wing-like
structure has ability to collect light
at any angle just like wings of rose
butterflies.
 life

“The ability to reproduce is the

essence of life”
 What is the definition of life?

• Although everyone knows what

life, there is no simple definition
of life.

• Life is a characteristic that

distinguishes physical entities
that have biological processes

• Abiogenesis is the natural

process of life arising from non-
living matter, such as simple
organic compounds.

• The prevailing scientific

hypothesis is that the transition
from non-living to living entities
was not a single event, but a
gradual process of increasing
complexity.
 Theory on origin of life on Earth
• The modern theory is also known as “chemical theory” or theory of
primary abiogenesis.
• In the modern theory, the hypothesis proposed with a condition that the
non-living materials can give rise to life in the condition of primitive
earth.
• The idea of chemical theory (primordial soup theory) was put forward by
two scientists, Alexander I. Oparin and J.B.S Haldane.

Assumptions:
• Spontaneous generation of life under the present environment is not
possible.
• Under primitive conditions, the chemical molecules (inorganic
molecules) react with each other through a series of reactions to form
organic substances and other complex biomolecules.
• The solar energy and UV radiation provided the energy for the chemical
reactions.
2. Evidence that supports the four-stage hypothesis for
the origin of life

a. Oparin and Haldane in the 1920s  Abiotic synthesis of

organic molecules was proved in the laboratory

Hypothesis: Conditions on primitive earth favored chemical

reactions that synthesized organic compounds from inorganic
precursors. These conditions were different from what is now
present and include:

- Reducing environment (no oxygen, but instead CH4, NH4,

and H2) = lots of free electrons that could be used to reduce
carbon and produce organic molecules.

- Energy from lightning, UV radiation (no O2 to block UV rays

from the sun) and volcanic activity (heat).
b. Miller and Urey in 1953
Tested the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis by creating conditions in which there was an
- Atmosphere above warmed sea water that contained H2O, H2, CH4, and NH3 and
- Electrodes that simulated lightning.
- From this setup, they obtained organic compounds such as amino acids that were
collected in cooled water.
• The experimental setup consists of a glass
flask-mixture of methane, ammonia, and
hydrogen in the ratio of 2:1:2 and water
vapour at 800 °C.
• They provided energy in the form of
spark by supplying electricity of 75000
volts through two electrodes. The electric
sparks mimics lighting in the primitive
earth atmosphere.
• While passing the mixture, gases were
passed through a liquid flask to
simulate the volcano.
• The mixture was collected and analysed
Miller- Urey Experiment using chromatographic and calorimetric
techniques.

• The analysis of mixture indicates the presence of amino acids such as glycine,
alanine, aspartic acid, nitrogen base adenine and simple ribose sugars, in
addition to this hydrogen cynide, formaldehyde, acetylene and
cyanoacetylene.
The experiment proved - organic molecules could be created out of
inorganic molecules.

So…….why don’t we see this happening in today’s world?

•Any organic molecules that are now formed would be used up by living
organisms.

•If microorganisms were created from these organic molecules in the early
earth’s water bodies, this would have been an example of spontaneous
creation!

•For much of history, man believed that living organisms could be created
spontaneously from non-living material (e.g. flies from dead meat, geese
from barnacles, etc.)

•This idea was refuted by Louis Pasteur in the 1860’s.

Origin of Microbes: Spontaneous Generation Myths
Theory that life just “spontaneously” developed from non-living
matter
Snakes from horse hairs in stagnant water
Mice from grain and cheese wrapped in a sweater
Maggots from rotting meat
Fleas from hair
Flies from fresh and rotting fruit
Mosquitoes from stagnant pondwater
Eels from slimy mud at the bottom of the ocean
Locusts from green leaves
Raccoons from hollow tree trunks
Termites are generated from rotting wood
 Few days of being
exposed to air.

Where do microorganism originate from?

Spontaneous generation??
The Conflict over Spontaneous Generation

• spontaneous generation
– living organisms can develop from nonliving or
decomposing matter
– publically a common sense vision with social and cultural
roots (almost 2000 years ago)
– Examples:
• flies from rotten meat and animal carcasses
• Mice from fungus infested grain barns
– Scientific methodology was not established

– What was the proof?

 Jan Baptista Van Helmont
(1577-1644)

• A Flemish noble man, alchemist and

physician

• discovered carbon dioxide,

introduced the term gas in its
present scientific sense

• believed in spontaneous generation

Jan Baptista Van Helmont
The Origin of life
1579-1644

Adult mice
 Could spontaneous
generation be true for
microorganisms?
Origin of Microbes: Redi’s Exp.

(1626-1697)

• First blow to spontaneous generation

• Laying eggs is required for maggots and flies to come to existence
• Life is necessary in order to bring about life in certain cases!
Pastuer (1861) Refuted Spont. Gen.
 Pasteur filtered air through cotton plug showing
that filterable particles cause contamination of
sterile broths.
 Swan-necked flask experiments

(1822-1895)
Origin of Microbes: Pasteur’s Swan-Necked Flasks

Remains
sterile.

Bacteria, Contamination
Heat to fungal of culture
sterilize spores, and
(doesn’t dust adhere Broth turbidity
always work). to glass. indicates bacterial
growth.
 FIVE elements and life

• All of the creation is made up of the FIVE ELEMENTS in different proportions.

The Human body is also the product of these 5 elements in different proportions.

• 72% water, 12% earth, 6% air, 4% fire and the rest is Ether. Each element is
responsible for different structures in the body.

• Earth forms solid structures such as teeth, nails, bones, muscles, skin, tissues,
and hair. These give structure and strength to the body.

• Water forms saliva, urine, semen, blood, and sweat. Fire forms hunger, thirst,
sleep, the vision in the eyes and complexion of skin.

• Air is responsible for all movement including expansion, contraction, vibration

and suppression.

• Space(Ether) is the most subtle of all elements and is present in the hollow
cavities of the body in the form of radio frequencies, light radiation, cosmic rays
etc.
 Thermodynamic transformation for cellular life

• From Physics perspective, living beings are thermodynamic systems with an

organized molecular structure that can reproduce itself and evolve as survival
dictates.
• Thermodynamically, life has been described as an open system which makes
use of gradients in its surroundings to create copies of itself.
• Primary living cells (“probionts”) cannot emerge of organic substance simply by
continuous chemical complication of prebiotic macromolecules and
microsystems.
• The complication must be accompanied by the radical thermodynamic
transformation (“jump”) of prebiotic microsystems that resulted in the acquired
ability to extract free energy from the environment and export entropy.
• Complex systems biology
(CSB) is a subfield of
mathematical and theoretical
biology concerned with
complexity of both structure
and function in biological
organisms.

• An emergence and evolution

of organisms and species,
with emphasis being placed
on the complex interactions
of, and within, bionetworks.

• Most complex system

models are often formulated
in terms of concepts drawn Life’s complexity pyramid showing
from statistical physics, hierarchy of structures from basic
information theory and non- genomic information at the base to
linear dynamics. regulatory motifs, functional modules
and large scale biological networks.
 Organization of Living Systems
• Operator theory says that "life is a general term for the presence of the typical
closures found in organisms; the typical closures are a membrane and an
autocatalytic set in the cell“.

• An organism is any system with an organisation that complies with an operator

type that is at least as complex as the cell. Life can also be modelled as a
network of inferior negative feedbacks of regulatory mechanisms subordinated
to a superior positive feedback formed by the potential of expansion and
reproduction

Organization of Living Things: Cell, Tissue, Organ, Organ System, Organism

 Program

Improvisation
Seclusion

Seven Pillars of Life

PICERAS
Adaptability Compartme
ntalization

Regeneration Energy
1. Program
• A set of commands describes the
interaction and kinetics among different
metabolites in the living system as it
persists through time can be called as
program.

• This set of program is implemented by

DNA that encodes the genes of an
organisms and which is replicated from
generation to generation, with small
changes.

• The genes code for chemicals such as

proteins, nucleic acids; that carry out
the reactions in living systems.

• It’s the program in DNA that maintained

for life on Earth.
2. Improvisation (a) (b)

• Living system is small fraction of

the larger universe in which it
lives, it will not be able to control
all the changes in its environment,
so it must have some way for
survival in environment.

• In our current living systems, such

changes can be achieved by a Artic fox in (a) Summer (b) Winter
process of mutation plus
selection, that allows programs to
be optimized for new
environmental challenges that are
to be faced.

Adaptation by Leopards to survive in wild

 Regulators and Conformers

• Animals have adapted and evolved to survive in various environments. Birds and
mammals regulate their body temperatures and can live in large ecological niches
these kinds of animals are called Regulators, or homeotherms.

• To cool down, regulators rely on sweating, panting or opening their mouths. To remain
warm, some animals shiver, which increases metabolism.

• Regulators regulate their bodies to remain at a relatively constant temperature. While

in the past such regulators were called warm-blooded (Endothermic).

• Such regulation demands significant energy expenditure, requiring regulators to

consume more food and possess a higher metabolism than conformers. For example,
hummingbirds must eat every several minutes to regulate their body temperatures.

• Animals that must relocate to different environment to maintain body temperature are
called as Conformers, or poikilotherms. Lizards, insects and fish represent
examples of conformers are also called as ectothermic

• Conformers engage in behaviour to regulate their temperature, such as basking in the

sun for warmth or retreating underground or into water to cool. Some aquatic animals
even alter their salinity to match that of the environment around them.
 (a) (b)

• Fig. (a): Change in body temperature

as change in ambient temperature
between Deer (Endothermic) and
Turtle (Ectothermic).

• Fig. (b): Change in body fluid salt

concentration as change in seawater
salt concentration between
Regulator(Endothermic) and
Conformer (Ectothermic).
3. Compartmentalization

• All the organisms that we consider living are confined to a limited volume,
surrounded by a surface that we call a membrane or skin that keeps the
ingredients in a defined volume and keeps toxic outside its membrane.

• As organisms become large, they are divided into smaller compartments, which
we call cells (or organs, that is, groups of cells), in order to centralize and
specialize certain functions within the larger organism.

Prokaryotic cell Eukaryotic cell

• Those kinetics depend on the concentrations of the ingredients. Simple dilution of
the contents of a cell kills it because of the decrease in concentration of the
contents, even though all the chemicals remain as active as before dilution.

• So a compartmentalization is essential to maintain the concentrations and

arrangement of the interior of the living organism and to provide protection from
the outside.
4. Energy
Photosynthesis
• Life as we know it involves movement of
chemicals, and a system with net
movement cannot be in equilibrium.

• It must be an open and, in this case,

metabolizing system. Many chemical
reactions are going on inside the cell,
and molecules are coming in from the
outer environment O2, CO2, metals, etc.

• In the organism’s system many of the

chemicals are recycled multiple times in
Cellular reaction
an organism’s lifetime (CO2, for
example, is consumed in photosynthesis
and then produced by oxidation in the
system), but originally they enter the
living system from the outside, so
thermodynamically this is an open
system.
5. Regeneration

• A metabolizing system composed of enzymes and metabolites which are

constantly reacting, it will inevitably be associated with some thermodynamic
losses.

• The losses will eventually change the kinetics of the program adversely, there
must be a plan to compensate for those losses, that is, a Regeneration system.

• One such regeneration system is the diffusion or active transport of chemicals into
the living organism. For example, CO2 and its products replace the losses
inevitable in chemical reactions.

Skin Regeneration
• For example, the heart muscle of a normal human beats 60 times a minute—
3600 times an hour, 1,314,000 times a year, 91,980,000 times a lifetime. No
man made material has been found that would not fatigue and collapse under
such use, which is why artificial hearts have such a short utilization span

• This is not the only way the living system regenerates. The constant re-
synthesis of its proteins and body constituents is not quite perfect, so the
small loss for each regeneration in the short run becomes a larger loss overall
for all the processes in the long run, adding up to what we call aging.

Heart muscle regenration

 Feedback Mechanism
6. Adaptability

• Improvisation is a form of adaptability, but

is too slow for many of the environmental
hazards that a living organism must face.

• That behavioural response to pain is

essential to survival and is a fundamental
response of living systems that we call
feedback.

• Our bodies respond to depletion of

nutrients (energy supplies) with hunger, Adaptation
which causes us to seek new food, and
our feedback then prevents our eating to
an excess of nutrients by losing appetite
and eating less.

• Walking long distances on bare feet leads

to calluses on one’s feet or the acquisition
of shoes to protect them.
7. Seclusion Cellular Respiration

• It is essential for a metabolizing system

with many reactions going on
simultaneously to prevent the chemicals in
pathway 1 (A→B→C→D for example)
from being metabolized by the catalysts of
pathway 2 (R→S→T→U).

• The seclusion of the biological system is

not absolute. It can be interrupted by
feedback and feedforward messages.

• There is also specificity in DNA and RNA

interactions. It is this seclusion of Mitochondrial Electron Transport
pathways that allows thousands of
reactions to occur with high efficiency in
the tiny volumes of a living cell,.

• Simultaneously receiving selective signals

that ensure an appropriate response to
environmental changes.
This are the fundamental principles on which PICERAS is based

1. Homeostasis: regulation of the internal environment to maintain a constant state;

for example, sweating to reduce temperature

2. Organization: being structurally composed of one or more cells – the basic units of
life

3. Metabolism: transformation of energy by converting chemicals and energy into

cellular components (anabolism) and decomposing organic matter (catabolism).

4. Growth: maintenance of a higher rate of anabolism than catabolism. A growing

organism increases in size in all of its parts, rather than simply accumulating matter.

5. Adaptation: the ability to change over time in response to the environment.

6. Response to stimuli: from the contraction of a unicellular organism to external

chemicals, to complex reactions involving all the senses of multicellular organisms.

7. Reproduction: the ability to produce new individual organisms, either asexually

from a single parent organism or sexually from two parent organisms.
 Why Study Biology in Engineering?

 Biology is one of the most complicated systems which has been engineered till date by
nature.
 A simple cell or microbe (1–10 μm) uses principles of several branches of
engineering like mechanical, chemical, and electrical to perform their tasks such as
locomotion and hunting, sensing the host, and reproduction, etc., which advanced
engineering devices like robots cannot do.
 We have not been able to completely understand/mimic how plants prepare their
food by photosynthesis, despite development in science and engineering.
 This would have helped in devising artificial photosynthesis to meet the demands of
food by the increasing world population.
 Computer and human brain have many things in common, which was devised to
defeat the human brain, but still, brain is superior.
 Many aspects of life or say, biology are still unanswered, which can be solved by a
cross-disciplinary approach integrating both engineering and science, including
biology.
 It is true that the devices or equipment which are either inspired or not inspired
from lessons of biology have been designed, mostly by the engineers.

 Hence, there is a close relationship and interdependency between engineering

and biology, which we are either not aware of or not willing to appreciate it.

 The engineers use science (biology or any other disciplines like physics,
chemistry etc) as their primary tool and often contribute to scientific
knowledge in the process.
 Neither science nor engineering can work without each other.
 Both science and engineering are a winning combination for driving
technological advancements
There are several inspiring examples of engineers involved in biological research.

Frances Arnold received the Nobel prize in chemistry in 2018

She had done B.S.E. in mechanical and aerospace engineering

She was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for her work on directed
evolution of enzymes. She shared the prize with American biochemist George P.
Smith and British biochemist Gregory P.

Irving Langmuir: He was an American chemist, physicist, and engineer. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Science degree in metallurgical engineering (Met.E.) from the Columbia
University School of Mines in 1903. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1932
for his work in surface chemistry.
 ALLIANCE BETWEEN ENGINEERING AND BIOLOGY

 Both engineering and

biology has mutual
collaboration between
them leading to new
interdisciplinary concepts
that aids in development
of technologies.

 Each one of them has

their own sets of
contribution, either
engineering in biology or
biology in engineering.
 Computer Science Engineering and biology

What are you made up of? DNA bases (biological data)

How many? 3 billion

Bioinformatics integrates computer

science, biology, statistics,
mathematics, and medical sciences etc
to understand the biological system or
to solve biology-based problems
 Civil Engineering and biology
Have you ever heard of using biological entities and concepts in civil engineering? Probably,
No.

Bioconcrete
 Concrete prepared through the addition of bacteria (e.g. Bacillus), and
calcium lactate that aids in sealing the cracks that appear in it.
 When concrete structure has cracks, water seeped into it that activate
bacterial spores to germinate. Then, the bacteria start consuming the
calcium lactate, which gets converted into insoluble limestone that
solidifies on the cracked surface, thereby sealing it up

Environmental engineering
 Deals with issues related to the environment and protecting organisms from the effects of
adverse environmental effects, such as pollution (soil, water, air) and waste materials from
industries and other places, as well as improving quality of the environment by water
resource management, bioremediation etc.

 Civil engineer contributes to environmental engineering through design, construction and

maintenance of facilities that are essential in solving environmental problems.
 Chemical Engineering and biology

 Biofuels (biodiesel, hydrogen, ethanol etc)

have been successfully produced using
starches, sugars, or wastes by the help of
microorganisms

 Antibiotics like penicillin, streptomycin, and

many more which we usually take when are
ill are produced in large scale from bacteria
using fermentation technologies that are
part of chemical engineering

 Wine production – Fermentation of

cultivated grape Vitis vinifera by Yeast
(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)
 Ceramic Engineering and biology
Manufacture objects from inorganic and non-metallic materials which are now used as
components in smartphones, computers, televisions, automotive electronics, and medical
devices etc

Bioceramics
 Ceramics used for the repair and reconstruction of human body parts, such as
synthetic bones and dental implants etc.
 Hydroxyapatite (HA), a bioceramic reinforced by polyethylene composites, used as
synthetic bone substitute
 Mining Engineering and biology
Have you ever thought whether microbes help to mine metals?

Biomining
 Process in mining engineering that deals with
extraction of metals of from rock ores, mineral
concentrates, or mine waste by using
microorganisms

 This was adopted seeing some rock-munching

bacteria, such as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

 iron- and sulfur-oxidizing microbes are usually used

in biomining which oxidizes minerals containing
insoluble metal sulfides such as Fe2S, CuS, NiS,
and ZnS into their soluble sulfate forms, e.g.,
Fe2SO4, CuSO4, NiSO4, and ZnSO4, respectively.

 Metals are recovered from the metal sulfates that

are biomined into the water, cleaning up the mining
sites.
 Material Science and Engineering in Biology

 Contributes to devising tools for research in biology, and biomedicine.

Examples: capillary electrophoresis used in DNA sequencing
Microfluidic devices used in crystallizing proteins

 Designing synthetic devices for replacement of damaged organs

 Uses materials of biological sources for making materials for different

purposes. E.g., poly (lactic acid) and chitin are used for synthesizing
nanoparticles and biodegradable packaging materials.

 Biomimetic system
Example: bioadhesives from marine mussels has ability to function in
wet environments
works on the same principles as mussels attaching to underwater
surfaces and insects maintaining structural balance and flexibility
 BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

 Biological Engineering or bioengineering is an

interdisciplinary discipline that focus on the application of
engineering principles/disciplines (chemical, mechanical,
electrical etc.) to develop solutions (product or process)
for wide variety of problems in biology. E.g., artificial
limbs

• Biomedical engineering
Also contributed by many disciplines of engineering
including mechanical, chemical, electronics, electrical
etc.
 More specialized version or sub-discipline of biological
engineering
 Focused on the production of new tools and processes that can
be used to improve human health.
E.g., hearing aids, heart pacemaker, etc.

 Biotechnology
uses biological organisms and their products to
manufacture useful materials (sustainable crops,
genetically engineered food, vaccines and antibiotics
etc.).
 BIOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Synthetic biology
 Combines biology with engineering/industrial design
 Considers living systems as programmable at the genetic level and offers the possibility of
applying systematic design approaches to constructing new biological systems or cells
with human-defined functions
 Synthetic yet ‘natural’ biomaterials that are sustainable and do not require animals or
spiders/silkworms
 Living medicines: engineering of living cells, including bacteria, to perform therapeutic
functions inside or on the surface of the body.

products

designing

automation

components or parts are combined

based on the design specification
 KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
 Biomimicry or Biomimetics refers to manmade models, systems, processes, substances, or devices
that are inspired from nature.
 The engineers have applied lessons from biology to build a more efficient digital camera inspired by
the human retina of the eye.
 The design of turbine blades of the windmill mimics the ‘tubercles’ on the pectoral flippers of
humpback Whale that facilitate improvement in lift and energy efficiency in addition to reducing in
drag.
 The alliance between biology and different engineering branches give rise to new solutions or
disciplines.
 John Bardeen who was awarded the Nobel prize twice in 1956, and 1972 was an engineer who had
done a B.S. in Electrical Engineering.
 Bioelectronics uses biological system or molecules such as pigments, proteins, DNA etc in
electronics.
 Bioceramics such as hydroxyapatite are used for repair and reconstruction of human body parts,
such as synthetic bones and dental implants etc.
 Biological Engineering or bioengineering is an interdisciplinary discipline that focus on the
application of engineering principles/disciplines (chemical, mechanical, electrical etc) to develop
solutions (product or process) for wide variety of problems in biology.