What Nature Can Teach Science

Who would’ve thought that geckos could revolutionize medical technology? Jeff Karp, an associate professor at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, was inspired research in nature, most specifically by the gecko’s incredible ability to stick to vertical walls. And he realized that that ability - sticking and unsticking easily, without leaving a residue behind, like a band-aid does - could be useful in the hospital. And this nature-inspired realization was just the beginning. We visit Karp’s lab to learn about his inventions, his reverence for evolution, and his biomimetic vision.