Posted On: 03/31/2015 10:32:03 AM
Post# of 22465
Mist-collecting plants may bioinspire technology to help alleviate global water shortages
Plants living in arid, mountainous and humid regions of the planet often rely on their leaves to obtain the moisture they need for survival by pulling mist out of the air. But how exactly they manage this feat has been a bit of a mystery -- until now. By studying the morphology and physiology of plants with tiny conical "hairs" or microfibers on the surface of their leaves, such as tomatoes, balsam pears and the flowers Berkheya purpea and Lychnis sieboldii, a team of researchers in Japan uncovered water collection-and-release secrets that may, in turn, one day soon "bioinspire" a technology to pull fresh water from the air to help alleviate global water shortages.
http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=39615.php
Plants living in arid, mountainous and humid regions of the planet often rely on their leaves to obtain the moisture they need for survival by pulling mist out of the air. But how exactly they manage this feat has been a bit of a mystery -- until now. By studying the morphology and physiology of plants with tiny conical "hairs" or microfibers on the surface of their leaves, such as tomatoes, balsam pears and the flowers Berkheya purpea and Lychnis sieboldii, a team of researchers in Japan uncovered water collection-and-release secrets that may, in turn, one day soon "bioinspire" a technology to pull fresh water from the air to help alleviate global water shortages.
http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology-news/newsid=39615.php
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