Biological systems strong materials

Figure 13.4b emphasizes the finite nature and strong irreversibility of an economic system. The stock of energy and resources will eventually run out and so will the absorptive capacity of the environment for waste. An obvious extension of Figure 13.4b, therefore, is the one represented by Figure 13.4c. Just like in nature, waste has to be recycled. In nature, there is no real waste. Every form of waste is a resource for a living system. This living system is very small and called a microbe. Microbes make sure that all matter recycles in nature. Man needs to assume this humble but valuable and important role of microbes in the economic system and make sure that the material cycles get closed. Therefore, energy (or rather work) is required. But obviously this work should not be supplied from a nonrenewable source, like fossil fuels, but rather from a renewable source like the sun. Figure 13.4c therefore seems to be characteristic for a sustainable economic system and agrees remarkably with the definition of sustainability from biological systems A...

Background material - this part introduces kinetics and thermodynamics of biochemical networks, providing a strong foundation for understanding biological systems and applications to well-conceived biochemical models. 

Access to ultrahigh fields will also allow the detection of quadrupolar nuclei bound on large structures. See, for example, the recent direct detection by solid-state NMR of potassium cations bound to G-quadruplex struc-tures. The Zn or Mg NMR, for example, will become more accessible in biological systems, an achievement that was still a dream only 20 years ago. The main challenge in the development of new nanohybrid materials is their characterization, many being amorphous. The precise characterization of nanostructures will also strongly rely on the current developments of NMR spectroscopy. 

There is much value in pushing the relationship between material and design, especially in structural composites. Using a hierarchical approach to the interpretation of biological systems, we know we can we create strong structures from weak materials, introduce counterintuitive properties, and push the boundaries of what is possible. The next step is to move from static design to spatial and temporal systems. Can we interpret biological mechanisms that adapt and respond to stimuli dispersed in space and time ... 

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