Nature = Future! Saison 1

Through the properties of oxalogen trees, which convert CO2 into limestone, it is possible to capture CO2 while implementing sustainable agroforestry in developing countries.

Taking inspiration from diatoms, cellular microorganisms which surround themselves with a glass shell in water, we now know how to manufacture different materials, at room temperature, which are very useful for numerous industrial and medical applications.

Using the natural bioluminescence chemical properties from fish bacteria has potential to produce lighting in the future which is electricity-free, more economical and non-toxic.

Inspired by the hydrophobic properties of animals like the marine worm, researchers have developed a unique medical glue that works inside the human body and reduces the invasiveness of surgical procedures.

The different respiratory metabolisms of humans engaged in sport provide inspiration for the manufacture of hybrid car engines that emit less CO2.

By reproducing the ultra-fast way in which information is circulated by a cricket's hairs, we can produce ultra-high-performance micro electronic sensors for technological or medical purposes.

The discovery of an antimicrobial protein in the intestine of king penguins, which allows it to preserve food, is good news for enabling humans to fight bacteria.

The study of how great apes self-medicate through their knowledge of plants provides information about new molecules with the ability to fight human diseases.

By copying the denticle structure of shark skin, the Sharklet company produces antibacterial coatings in hospitals to fight hospital-acquired diseases.

Copying both viruses and cholesterol transporters found in the blood allows us to create very small nanovectors that transport drugs and treat cancer cells.

Inspired by the way in which soil lies randomly and adheres to the ground in nature, Interface have created more sustainable carpet tiles by saving on materials and using a glue-free adhesion method.

The Saint-Gobain company is studying the ultra-hydrophobic properties of the lotus leaf in order to develop innovative and more sustainable industrial materials.

Foraging bees know how to manage their ""fuel"". Following this principle, Pole-N has created a model for sustainable energy that generates a circular economy and creates more trade.

In conducting research on cardiovascular diseases, physical chemist Cédric Chauvierre (Inserm) is inspired by the long polysaccharide molecule which gives marine algae its flexibility and strength to replace defective arteries. These artificial vessels need to withstand significant variations in pressure and be biocompatible. Several tests on animals have proven conclusive. Rat cells even recolonise this porous material, which they end up replacing with a real blood vessel.

Inspired by the photosynthesis carried out by bacteria, researchers have developed a new catalyst to produce hydrogen from water. This promises a completely new, clean and sustainable form of energy for the future.

Insects or butterflies can fly by perfectly optimising their use of energy. By adapting the shape and beating of their wings to wind turbines, we can generate wind power even in urban areas.

Creating tidal turbines that operate by undulation like fish, in order to generate energy in any aquatic environment, oceans or rivers, even with weak currents.

Designing an everyday object that is much more energy efficient by drawing inspiration from the natural insulation and optimisation principles specific to the toucan, the nautilus, the polar bear and termite mounds.

Plants and bacteria combined with sunlight have the ability to breakdown or absorb various molecules from our waste water. If nature knows how to effectively purify water, we can use this as inspiration to create purification facilities which themselves become natural areas of beauty!

Charles-Hervé Gruyer guides us around the Bec d'Hellouin farm that he founded in Normandy following permaculture principles developed in Australia in the 1970s. Inspired by nature and the ways ecosystems work, here disorder is managed by hedges that protect from the wind and combinations of plants that grow on mounds. Since 2011, INRA and ParisAgroTech have been studying the farm's yields: it is as productive as conventional farms, but on an area 10 to 12 times smaller...

The morpho butterfly is poised to become a major player in the energy transition thanks to the astonishing structure of its wings which inspires physicists like Serge Berthier, professor at the Institute of Nanosciences in Paris. When the temperature rises above 40°C, the wings create infrared radiation, which lowers their temperature... and incidentally gives the butterfly its magnificent blue colour. A phenomenon, studied in photonics, which could be reproduced to maintain…

In Saint-Laurent-Le-Minier and in many abandoned industrial and mining sites, the soil is full of contaminants (cadmium, lead, zinc, etc.). Thankfully, in this case like in many other instances, Mother Nature comes to the rescue by providing us with depolluting plants, such as the legume Anthyllis vulneraria which absorbs zinc. Chemist Claude Grison explains this depollution by phytoextraction. The cherry on the cake is that this biomass can be recycled using ecocatalysis, which…

While bears will soon be hibernating in their dens, scientists are looking into the mechanisms by which these plantigrades are able to retain muscle despite being immobile for several months. Fabrice Bertile, biologist and chemist at the Hubert Curien Multidisciplinary Institute, is conducting research on muscle proteins using samples from Scandinavian brown bears. The bear's anti-atrophic abilities could be useful to the elderly and sick people bedridden for long periods.

In forests, the underground work of fungi mycelium transforms organic waste into nutrients for the plants. Gil Urban and Arnaud de Grave, president and technical director of the company Polypop respectively, use this capability to clean polluted areas, and even dealing with hydrocarbons. Can fungi provide new ecological solutions for human societies?

Cultivating microalgae on the walls of our cities, in particular to capture carbon dioxide, is the concept developed by Olivier Scheffer of XTU Architects and Jérémy Pruvost, a process engineering researcher at the University of Nantes. The first achievements will soon see the light of day. As a result, our bio-facades will come in all shades of red, brown and green!

Ifremer teams have found a bacterium at the bottom of the oceans that could contribute to the development of regenerative medicine. The aim of teams from the Inserm 791 “Osteo-articular and dental engineering laboratory” research unit and Ifremer is to manufacture injectable gels capable of stimulating the regeneration of cartilage or bone from stem cells. Their key ingredient is a polysaccharide produced by a bacteria of marine origin called Alteromonas infernus.

Termites and cows are among the living beings that produce the greatest amount of methane. A team of scientists decided to find out how and why. They cultivated the bacteria responsible for this process and are using them to improve the methanisation of effluvia from wastewater treatment plants. Bacteria thus become our allies in the fight against greenhouse gases...

Both in nature and in our homes, spider webs seem to hang on just a few fragile threads.... And yet, on closer inspection, they are found to be devilishly solid and sophisticated! How and why how do spiders produce them? What applications can we expect to develop from them? Arachnologist Christine Rollard gives us the keys to understanding a highly resourceful species and Hervé Elettro describes the physical and mechanical properties of spider threads.