DriveBio-inspired idea1,330 of 1,961

Termite mounds can ventilate themselves without machines, turning small temperature changes into airflow.

Harvard Wyss / PNAS

Why it matters

The idea in context

Researchers have shown that some mounds act like living lungs, using day-night temperature swings to move air and flush out carbon dioxide. Good design does not always add power; sometimes it studies what already works.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Termitlerin yaptığı höyükler, makine kullanmadan nefes alan yapılar gibi çalışabilir.

Bazı termit höyükleri, gündüz ve gece arasındaki sıcaklık farkını kullanarak içeride hava dolaşımı oluşturur ve karbondioksiti dışarı atar. Bu yüzden mühendisler onları yalnızca böcek yuvası olarak değil, doğal havalandırma dersi olarak da inceler. İyi tasarım bazen doğaya karşı koymaz; onu dinler.

Source trail

Read beyond the card.

Harvard Wyss termite ventilation research; PNAS termite mound ventilation study. Sources: https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/termite-mounds-could-inspire-new-ideas-for-sustainable-building-ventilation/ ; https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1423242112

Background reading: Termite moundAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.

Open in the iPhone app Editorial method

Next in the open archiveSeagrass meadows cover a tiny part of the seafloor, yet store a surprisingly large share of ocean carbon.Q1382

Termite mounds can ventilate themselves without machines, turning small temperature changes into airflow.

The idea in context

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Read beyond the card.

Keep following this thread.

eBird turns ordinary birdwatching checklists into a global record of species, place and time that scientists can use to track change.

CRISPR began as a bacterial defence system; in the laboratory, it became a way to cut and change DNA with remarkable precision.

In 1905, Einstein published major papers while working as a clerk in the Swiss patent office. The story is useful because important work does not always begin from a grand position.

Beavers reshape landscapes by building dams that slow water, spread wetlands and change how whole valleys behave.

After a walk in the Alps in 1941, George de Mestral grew curious about the burrs stuck to his dog. Under a microscope he found tiny hooks catching in loops of fur — and spent the next decade turning that into Velcro.