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8 business lessons from the birds and the bees

So-called biomimicry, in which scientists copy nature to solve human problems, is taking hold in industries from energy to consumer goods.

Imagine a day when bees provide inspiration for energy efficient buildings and cars that drive themselves, sharks offer the promise to reduced hospital infections and geckos give ideas for hanging big-screen TV sets. It's already here. The burgeoning field of biomimicry, in which scientists copy nature to solve human problems, has drawn interest across industries -- from energy to consumer goods. "There is a whole pipeline of people inventing by looking to the natural world," says Janine Benyus, founder of Biomimicry 3.8, a consultancy that has helped Colgate-Palmolive (CL, Fortune 500), Levis, Nike (NKE, Fortune 500) and Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) reformulate products using biomimicry Here's a look at how nature is breeding new ideas.

NEXT: Geckos

By Jennifer Alsever @FortuneMagazine - Last updated March 28 2013 10:02 AM ET

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