From Sticky Barnacles to Battery-Powered Dogs, Biomimetics Offers More Powerful Testimony to Intelligent Design

Is this not heartbreaking? My little daughter is dejected because the sole on her favorite pair of boots keeps falling off and the glue we use to put it back on fails as soon as she steps out in the rain. Why? Because water ruins the adhesive.

It's a problem, and scientists are looking to barnacles for a solution. Not specifically for my daughter's shoe, but for more serious, notably biomedical purposes. Barnacles are proverbial for their ability to adhere to damp surfaces indefinitely while...