The TED talk about the gecko feet was fascinating. The result of studying gecko feet and how they cling to walls is an adhesive car seat! This made me think about the technology we have in hospitals now to save lives which did not exist only 20 years ago.
My father had a heart attack the same year I graduated from college in 1993. The surgeon had to perform cardiac bypass surgery in order to restore blood flow to his heart. He fully recovered. He lived happily for the next 20 years.
Then in 2013 he had another heart attack. This time, however, the surgeons were able to insert a stint by going through an artery in his leg. His recovery time and time spent in the hospital were much shorter. Again, he made a full recovery.
To me, the advances we have made in medicine are truly astounding. People live longer now than they ever have. I wonder if some of these advances were the result of studying animals and their characteristics such as the gecko?
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