1 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:04,100 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:06,733 --> 00:00:10,066 NARRATOR: In the science of the very small, 3 00:00:10,100 --> 00:00:14,500 {\an1}some ingenious inventors are inspiring materials 4 00:00:14,533 --> 00:00:17,200 {\an1}with wondrous properties. 5 00:00:18,433 --> 00:00:20,133 {\an1}Sensitive to climate change. 6 00:00:20,166 --> 00:00:24,200 {\an1}They can act as a sentinel for our interaction with the planet. 7 00:00:24,233 --> 00:00:27,266 NARRATOR: Brilliant color without paint. 8 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:29,766 (translated): What we see here is a close-up. 9 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,900 {\an1}We see that the blue comes from the background scales. 10 00:00:32,933 --> 00:00:37,233 NARRATOR: Protection from hazardous chemicals and bacteria. 11 00:00:37,266 --> 00:00:39,400 The word "contaminated" on the glove 12 00:00:39,433 --> 00:00:40,566 {\an1}will turn from blue to red 13 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,633 {\an1}when you touch a surface that is contaminated. 14 00:00:43,666 --> 00:00:45,833 NARRATOR: Even an unsinkable metal. 15 00:00:45,866 --> 00:00:48,600 CHUNLEI GUO: As our ocean level 16 00:00:48,633 --> 00:00:50,200 continue to go up, 17 00:00:50,233 --> 00:00:51,700 in the future, 18 00:00:51,733 --> 00:00:55,633 {\an1}a lot of city will have to be built on top of the ocean. 19 00:00:55,666 --> 00:01:01,366 NARRATOR: All thanks to the millions of years of evolution 20 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:06,433 {\an1}packed into the remarkable world of butterflies and moths. 21 00:01:06,466 --> 00:01:08,666 {\an1}There's many problems that humans haven't solved 22 00:01:08,700 --> 00:01:10,209 {\an1}that butterflies and moths already have. 23 00:01:10,233 --> 00:01:15,400 NARRATOR: "Butterfly Blueprints," right now, on "NOVA." 24 00:01:15,433 --> 00:01:19,900 ♪ ♪ 25 00:01:38,300 --> 00:01:42,200 ♪ ♪ 26 00:01:42,233 --> 00:01:44,500 NARRATOR: Butterflies and moths. 27 00:01:44,533 --> 00:01:47,666 {\an1}Graceful and beautiful. 28 00:01:47,700 --> 00:01:50,033 {\an1}Their delicate wings seem barely suitable for flight. 29 00:01:50,066 --> 00:01:53,733 {\an1}In spring and summer, they appear in our skies, 30 00:01:53,766 --> 00:01:55,200 flitting 31 00:01:55,233 --> 00:01:57,433 and floating. 32 00:01:57,466 --> 00:02:00,500 Their dazzling colors and patterns 33 00:02:00,533 --> 00:02:02,633 {\an1}are among the most amazing in the animal kingdom. 34 00:02:02,666 --> 00:02:06,866 Some estimates put the number of species 35 00:02:06,900 --> 00:02:08,700 around 160,000, 36 00:02:08,733 --> 00:02:11,200 {\an1}and they thrive in nearly 37 00:02:11,233 --> 00:02:13,500 {\an1}every nook and cranny of our planet. 38 00:02:13,533 --> 00:02:16,033 If you go to the northern latitudes, 39 00:02:16,066 --> 00:02:17,200 {\an1}you'll find butterflies. 40 00:02:17,233 --> 00:02:18,676 {\an1}If you go to the desert, you'll find butterflies. 41 00:02:18,700 --> 00:02:20,733 {\an1}If you go to the rainforest, 42 00:02:20,766 --> 00:02:22,133 {\an1}you'll find butterflies and moths. 43 00:02:22,166 --> 00:02:23,900 NARRATOR: Their variety and beauty 44 00:02:23,933 --> 00:02:26,800 are testimony to the power of evolution, 45 00:02:26,833 --> 00:02:29,966 as are their countless hidden features... 46 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,533 {\an1}some visible only with the most powerful microscopes. 47 00:02:33,566 --> 00:02:37,200 Today, scientists around the world 48 00:02:37,233 --> 00:02:39,233 are studying these natural treasures. 49 00:02:39,266 --> 00:02:41,500 {\an8}Gorgeous. 50 00:02:41,533 --> 00:02:43,009 NARRATOR: Discovering secrets that can be adapted 51 00:02:43,033 --> 00:02:47,233 and applied to make our world more sustainable. 52 00:02:47,266 --> 00:02:48,333 {\an1}They're so beautiful, 53 00:02:48,366 --> 00:02:51,500 {\an1}but we can learn a lot by studying them. 54 00:02:51,533 --> 00:02:54,800 NARRATOR: As champions of evolution, 55 00:02:54,833 --> 00:02:58,233 {\an1}they've been at it for tens of millions of years. 56 00:02:58,266 --> 00:03:01,900 Butterflies emerged around the same time as 57 00:03:01,933 --> 00:03:03,933 flowering plants. 58 00:03:03,966 --> 00:03:05,109 {\an1}Throughout their long history, 59 00:03:05,133 --> 00:03:08,500 {\an1}they have diversified and developed 60 00:03:08,533 --> 00:03:10,600 {\an1}amazing adaptations, like 61 00:03:10,633 --> 00:03:14,033 powerful poisons, silk thread, 62 00:03:14,066 --> 00:03:18,300 stationary flight, transparent materials, 63 00:03:18,333 --> 00:03:20,300 {\an1}temperature regulation, 64 00:03:20,333 --> 00:03:22,266 astonishing colors and patterns, 65 00:03:22,300 --> 00:03:25,600 and defenses against bacterial infections. 66 00:03:25,633 --> 00:03:28,633 ♪ ♪ 67 00:03:28,666 --> 00:03:30,833 {\an1}They have so much to teach us. 68 00:03:30,866 --> 00:03:34,133 {\an1}But today, many species are in danger of 69 00:03:34,166 --> 00:03:37,966 extinction, threatened by a warming world. 70 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,200 {\an1}(wildlife chittering) 71 00:03:40,233 --> 00:03:46,033 ♪ ♪ 72 00:03:46,066 --> 00:03:49,566 And if we can find ways to save them, 73 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,966 {\an1}it's becoming clear that we'll also be helping ourselves. 74 00:03:55,100 --> 00:04:00,466 In North America, an iconic species 75 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:03,100 {\an1}is particularly vulnerable to climate change 76 00:04:03,133 --> 00:04:05,333 and habitat loss. 77 00:04:05,366 --> 00:04:07,700 {\an1}Delbert André Green II, 78 00:04:07,733 --> 00:04:11,133 {\an1}a researcher at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 79 00:04:11,166 --> 00:04:15,566 {\an1}studies the complex life cycle of the monarch butterfly. 80 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,533 GREEN: One of the questions that I get asked most often is, 81 00:04:18,566 --> 00:04:22,433 {\an8}why should we expend so much resources 82 00:04:22,466 --> 00:04:24,866 {\an8}into this one particular species, 83 00:04:24,900 --> 00:04:26,033 {\an8}this one butterfly? 84 00:04:26,066 --> 00:04:28,133 {\an1}What makes it so special? 85 00:04:28,166 --> 00:04:32,466 What really makes monarchs special is, 86 00:04:32,500 --> 00:04:34,233 {\an1}they can act as a sentinel 87 00:04:34,266 --> 00:04:36,733 {\an1}for our interaction with the planet. 88 00:04:36,766 --> 00:04:39,733 Their migration covers an entire continent. 89 00:04:39,766 --> 00:04:42,033 ♪ ♪ 90 00:04:42,066 --> 00:04:44,566 NARRATOR: That migration begins each fall 91 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,100 {\an1}when millions of monarchs take off from Canada 92 00:04:47,133 --> 00:04:50,700 {\an1}and the Northern United States and head for Mexico, 93 00:04:50,733 --> 00:04:55,200 where they remain until the following spring. 94 00:04:55,233 --> 00:04:58,633 It's a 3,000-mile test of endurance 95 00:04:58,666 --> 00:05:00,966 {\an1}that lasts up to two months. 96 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:02,466 GREEN: If we look at 97 00:05:02,500 --> 00:05:05,766 {\an1}this population size by counting the number of monarchs 98 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:07,200 {\an1}that make it to Mexico, 99 00:05:07,233 --> 00:05:10,666 that number has been declining pretty consistently 100 00:05:10,700 --> 00:05:12,100 {\an1}over the past two decades. 101 00:05:12,133 --> 00:05:16,400 And that's, we still consider worrisome. 102 00:05:16,433 --> 00:05:17,776 NARRATOR: Delbert believes the decline 103 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,533 {\an1}can be used to gauge the level of environmental change 104 00:05:20,566 --> 00:05:23,166 {\an1}that the butterflies encounter on their journey. 105 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:25,633 GREEN: If there aren't enough nectaring flowers 106 00:05:25,666 --> 00:05:27,900 {\an1}along the migration route, 107 00:05:27,933 --> 00:05:30,566 then monarchs won't be able to power 108 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,500 {\an8}the entire flight. 109 00:05:32,533 --> 00:05:36,133 {\an7}That's also going to be impacted by climate 110 00:05:36,166 --> 00:05:38,466 {\an8}and by how we change the landscape 111 00:05:38,500 --> 00:05:42,966 {\an7}through our own development or agricultural practices. 112 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:44,800 {\an8}NARRATOR: In Mexico, 113 00:05:44,833 --> 00:05:47,400 {\an7}monarchs that survive the journey gather together, 114 00:05:47,433 --> 00:05:50,300 {\an8}forming spectacular wreaths of living color. 115 00:05:50,333 --> 00:05:53,800 {\an7}Snuggled close together, 116 00:05:53,833 --> 00:05:57,500 {\an7}they fall into a kind of hibernation called diapause. 117 00:05:57,533 --> 00:06:01,033 {\an7}As their metabolism slows, they suspend activity, 118 00:06:01,066 --> 00:06:04,833 storing their energy until the spring returns. 119 00:06:04,866 --> 00:06:09,900 {\an1}But during this time, they are still vulnerable. 120 00:06:11,366 --> 00:06:12,900 GREEN: Diapause conditions have to be 121 00:06:12,933 --> 00:06:16,866 almost perfect in order for them 122 00:06:16,900 --> 00:06:20,633 {\an1}to be able to survive the winter. 123 00:06:20,666 --> 00:06:23,800 {\an1}If temperatures are changing at the overwintering site, 124 00:06:23,833 --> 00:06:26,766 {\an1}then that's going to lead to 125 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:30,700 {\an1}kind of this disturbance in, potentially, diapause timing. 126 00:06:30,733 --> 00:06:33,233 ♪ ♪ 127 00:06:33,266 --> 00:06:34,833 NARRATOR: During their diapause, 128 00:06:34,866 --> 00:06:38,066 {\an1}monarchs endure a very sensitive and crucial time. 129 00:06:42,233 --> 00:06:44,866 GREEN: Diapause allows them to 130 00:06:44,900 --> 00:06:47,633 slowly burn through their fat stores. 131 00:06:47,666 --> 00:06:49,900 {\an1}So if it ends too early, they're going to start 132 00:06:49,933 --> 00:06:51,800 {\an1}burning through their fat stores more quickly, 133 00:06:51,833 --> 00:06:55,533 {\an1}and they're going to be more susceptible to infection, 134 00:06:55,566 --> 00:06:58,033 {\an1}which will potentially increase mortality 135 00:06:58,066 --> 00:06:59,966 {\an1}at the overwintering sites 136 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,933 {\an1}before spring arrives, 137 00:07:02,966 --> 00:07:04,800 and the temperatures become warm enough 138 00:07:04,833 --> 00:07:05,866 {\an1}such that they can mate 139 00:07:05,900 --> 00:07:09,033 and start to fly back northwards. 140 00:07:09,066 --> 00:07:12,933 NARRATOR: By monitoring monarch populations, 141 00:07:12,966 --> 00:07:16,800 {\an1}scientists can gain insight into how a warming climate 142 00:07:16,833 --> 00:07:19,433 {\an1}can disrupt ecosystems, 143 00:07:19,466 --> 00:07:24,300 {\an1}threatening not only monarchs, but other species, as well. 144 00:07:26,733 --> 00:07:31,333 ♪ ♪ 145 00:07:31,366 --> 00:07:35,066 Butterflies are giving scientists like Delbert 146 00:07:35,100 --> 00:07:38,633 a window into our changing climate. 147 00:07:38,666 --> 00:07:40,833 But that's only the beginning of what studies 148 00:07:40,866 --> 00:07:45,133 {\an1}of these remarkable creatures are revealing... 149 00:07:45,166 --> 00:07:48,733 Particularly about the structure of materials 150 00:07:48,766 --> 00:07:51,766 {\an1}at the nanoscopic scale. 151 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:53,566 Researchers have been inspired by 152 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:55,533 incredible nanoscopic structures 153 00:07:55,566 --> 00:07:58,633 {\an1}in the wings and bodies of butterflies, 154 00:07:58,666 --> 00:08:01,333 {\an1}enabling the creation of innovative technologies 155 00:08:01,366 --> 00:08:04,466 {\an1}that may one day save lives 156 00:08:04,500 --> 00:08:08,900 and even help combat climate change. 157 00:08:08,933 --> 00:08:13,066 {\an7}Butterflies and moths have many aspects of their morphology, 158 00:08:13,100 --> 00:08:16,200 {\an8}of their physiology, that we could use 159 00:08:16,233 --> 00:08:18,100 {\an1}for bio-inspired design, for sure. 160 00:08:18,133 --> 00:08:19,242 {\an1}I mean, there's many things, 161 00:08:19,266 --> 00:08:21,400 {\an1}many problems that humans haven't solved 162 00:08:21,433 --> 00:08:22,976 that butterflies and moths already have. 163 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:27,300 ♪ ♪ 164 00:08:27,333 --> 00:08:31,233 NARRATOR: The use of butterfly and moth features dates back 165 00:08:31,266 --> 00:08:33,300 {\an1}at least 5,000 years, 166 00:08:33,333 --> 00:08:35,633 when the species known as Bombyx mori 167 00:08:35,666 --> 00:08:38,233 {\an1}was first domesticated in China 168 00:08:38,266 --> 00:08:40,700 {\an1}for its ability to produce 169 00:08:40,733 --> 00:08:44,233 {\an1}a phenomenally resilient and versatile material... 170 00:08:44,266 --> 00:08:46,466 Silk. 171 00:08:46,500 --> 00:08:48,200 ♪ ♪ 172 00:08:48,233 --> 00:08:50,566 Because of the importance of silk 173 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,066 {\an1}to the Chinese imperial court, 174 00:08:53,100 --> 00:08:57,566 {\an1}the means of producing it was a heavily guarded secret, 175 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:02,866 {\an1}and its violators were punished, even by death. 176 00:09:02,900 --> 00:09:04,900 (whirring) 177 00:09:04,933 --> 00:09:09,300 Today, of course, the secret is out. 178 00:09:09,333 --> 00:09:12,400 The whole process starts with the hatching 179 00:09:12,433 --> 00:09:15,333 of a miniscule egg 180 00:09:15,366 --> 00:09:18,500 and the birth of a caterpillar that measures 181 00:09:18,533 --> 00:09:22,866 less than an eighth of an inch. 182 00:09:22,900 --> 00:09:26,066 {\an1}From its earliest days, the Bombyx caterpillar 183 00:09:26,100 --> 00:09:28,633 {\an1}devours an enormous quantity 184 00:09:28,666 --> 00:09:31,666 of mulberry leaves, plant matter 185 00:09:31,700 --> 00:09:36,000 {\an1}that it will eventually convert into silk thread. 186 00:09:36,033 --> 00:09:42,300 ♪ ♪ 187 00:09:44,933 --> 00:09:48,766 {\an1}After about a month of feeding, 188 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,200 {\an1}the Bombyx caterpillar will find a branch to climb, 189 00:09:51,233 --> 00:09:54,600 where it will begin metamorphosis 190 00:09:54,633 --> 00:09:57,633 into its adult form. 191 00:09:58,766 --> 00:10:03,366 {\an7}For the next few days, it will tirelessly repeat 192 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:05,100 {\an1}the same figure-eight movement, 193 00:10:05,133 --> 00:10:08,533 while secreting a viscous filament, the silk, 194 00:10:08,566 --> 00:10:11,833 eventually spinning up to a mile 195 00:10:11,866 --> 00:10:14,033 of the thread into a protective cocoon. 196 00:10:14,066 --> 00:10:17,700 ♪ ♪ 197 00:10:22,366 --> 00:10:26,400 {\an1}Scientists have found that the thread is mainly comprised 198 00:10:26,433 --> 00:10:29,400 {\an1}of just two proteins. 199 00:10:29,433 --> 00:10:33,400 ♪ ♪ 200 00:10:37,533 --> 00:10:39,300 Today, a whole new chapter 201 00:10:39,333 --> 00:10:42,733 {\an8}is opening in the story of silk. 202 00:10:42,766 --> 00:10:44,800 (beeping) 203 00:10:44,833 --> 00:10:49,000 Researchers at the Tufts Silklab in Boston 204 00:10:49,033 --> 00:10:51,566 have isolated one of the proteins, 205 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:52,933 called fibroin, 206 00:10:52,966 --> 00:10:56,066 and have created an innovative material. 207 00:10:56,100 --> 00:10:57,642 FIORENZO OMENETTO: So, we end up with a solution 208 00:10:57,666 --> 00:11:02,400 {\an1}that is the suspension of the fibroin molecules in water. 209 00:11:02,433 --> 00:11:03,633 {\an7}Once we have the solution, 210 00:11:03,666 --> 00:11:06,133 {\an8}this is our magical starting material to do, 211 00:11:06,166 --> 00:11:07,433 {\an7}to do many, many things. 212 00:11:07,466 --> 00:11:10,733 {\an7}And so, and so the key is that you have these proteins 213 00:11:10,766 --> 00:11:13,633 {\an1}that are floating in water, 214 00:11:13,666 --> 00:11:15,400 and you remove water as the solvent 215 00:11:15,433 --> 00:11:17,533 and you have two proteins come together 216 00:11:17,566 --> 00:11:19,766 in many, many different formats. 217 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:21,700 {\an1}Then you get different outcomes of materials. 218 00:11:21,733 --> 00:11:24,966 NARRATOR: To the scientists, 219 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:26,433 silk is an incredibly versatile, 220 00:11:26,466 --> 00:11:28,800 {\an1}environmentally friendly material. 221 00:11:28,833 --> 00:11:31,533 What begins as a colorless liquid... 222 00:11:31,566 --> 00:11:33,633 {\an1}this gel-like solution... 223 00:11:33,666 --> 00:11:36,300 Can be either flexible and soluble 224 00:11:36,333 --> 00:11:39,300 {\an1}or as tough as Kevlar. 225 00:11:39,333 --> 00:11:44,533 {\an1}Luciana d'Amone is exploring medical applications. 226 00:11:44,566 --> 00:11:46,666 {\an1}Fibroin has an advantage 227 00:11:46,700 --> 00:11:48,900 {\an1}over synthetic materials like plastics 228 00:11:48,933 --> 00:11:51,800 {\an1}because it's compatible with the human body. 229 00:11:51,833 --> 00:11:53,066 OMENETTO: Oh, so this is the... 230 00:11:53,100 --> 00:11:54,400 D'AMONE: (inaudible) net. 231 00:11:54,433 --> 00:11:55,233 OMENETTO: (inaudible) net, so these are very nice. 232 00:11:55,266 --> 00:11:56,400 Yeah, but as soon as I 233 00:11:56,433 --> 00:11:59,266 stretch them, they are, are breaking down. 234 00:11:59,300 --> 00:12:00,442 OMENETTO: This is going to be nice 235 00:12:00,466 --> 00:12:01,776 for, like, a Band-Aid-type application 236 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,900 or a reconfigurable, so these are very, very pretty. 237 00:12:04,933 --> 00:12:07,166 {\an1}Yeah, the idea would be to 238 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:09,633 {\an7}mix the drug together with a solution 239 00:12:09,666 --> 00:12:12,066 {\an7}and then control the release 240 00:12:12,100 --> 00:12:14,433 {\an8}of the drug on a higher surface area, 241 00:12:14,466 --> 00:12:15,800 {\an1}just stretching the net. Yeah. 242 00:12:15,833 --> 00:12:17,833 OMENETTO: The attributes, 243 00:12:17,866 --> 00:12:19,342 {\an1}the functional attributes that silk has 244 00:12:19,366 --> 00:12:22,600 {\an1}that, that give value to some of the applications of the silk, 245 00:12:22,633 --> 00:12:24,733 is the fact that silk can be implanted 246 00:12:24,766 --> 00:12:27,300 {\an1}without an inflammatory response in the human body. 247 00:12:27,333 --> 00:12:31,000 {\an1}That it can, it can be eaten, it can be consumed. 248 00:12:33,433 --> 00:12:36,400 NARRATOR: In the lab, they are finding that the fibroin material 249 00:12:36,433 --> 00:12:40,266 can be made to be rigid and tough 250 00:12:40,300 --> 00:12:44,066 {\an1}or flexible, like a film, making it an ideal material 251 00:12:44,100 --> 00:12:46,800 as an implant in reconstructive surgery. 252 00:12:46,833 --> 00:12:49,766 OMENETTO: If you take this material and you know that you can 253 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:50,966 {\an1}mechanically shape it 254 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,466 with the tools that you commonly use 255 00:12:53,500 --> 00:12:55,833 {\an1}in a mechanic's shop, then what you can do is, 256 00:12:55,866 --> 00:12:58,300 you can generate small screws. 257 00:12:58,333 --> 00:13:00,166 {\an8}NARRATOR: The screws made of fibroin 258 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,733 {\an8}are similar to the metal screws currently used 259 00:13:02,766 --> 00:13:04,400 {\an7}to reconstruct bones. 260 00:13:04,433 --> 00:13:07,133 {\an7}They can also deliver human growth factor compounds 261 00:13:07,166 --> 00:13:08,966 {\an7}to help bones knit together. 262 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,400 {\an1}So these are the worlds that come together: 263 00:13:11,433 --> 00:13:15,166 {\an1}the mechanical properties and the medical properties, 264 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:19,266 {\an1}in a material that integrates with, with living tissue. 265 00:13:19,300 --> 00:13:23,366 {\an8}NARRATOR: In liquid form, the fibroin in silk 266 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,400 {\an7}is also being combined with chemicals that react 267 00:13:26,433 --> 00:13:27,866 in the presence of 268 00:13:27,900 --> 00:13:30,833 bacteriological or viral threats. 269 00:13:30,866 --> 00:13:34,233 The result is an ink that can change color 270 00:13:34,266 --> 00:13:35,966 when exposed to dangerous substances 271 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,366 in the environment. 272 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,466 {\an1}All of the inks that are here on the tapestry react, 273 00:13:42,500 --> 00:13:43,633 {\an1}react to the environment, 274 00:13:43,666 --> 00:13:45,833 {\an1}react to the environment around it. 275 00:13:45,866 --> 00:13:47,766 {\an8}And so when you, when there is a change 276 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:49,000 {\an7}in the environment around it, 277 00:13:49,033 --> 00:13:51,066 {\an8}they will change color accordingly. 278 00:13:51,100 --> 00:13:55,300 ♪ ♪ 279 00:13:55,333 --> 00:13:57,700 NARRATOR: This fabric is of particular interest 280 00:13:57,733 --> 00:13:59,133 {\an1}for making protective gear 281 00:13:59,166 --> 00:14:01,766 {\an1}for workers operating where they might be exposed 282 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,100 {\an1}to dangerous substances. 283 00:14:06,933 --> 00:14:09,166 OMENETTO: So these types of inks are very interesting 284 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,800 {\an1}to turn objects into, into sensing objects. 285 00:14:12,833 --> 00:14:15,333 If you print a word with these inks 286 00:14:15,366 --> 00:14:18,166 onto the surface of personal protection equipment, 287 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:19,766 {\an1}so, like, a glove here, 288 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,866 that word will, will sense the environment around it. 289 00:14:22,900 --> 00:14:23,900 In this case, 290 00:14:23,933 --> 00:14:25,866 {\an1}the word "contaminated" on the glove 291 00:14:25,900 --> 00:14:27,733 {\an1}will turn from blue to red 292 00:14:27,766 --> 00:14:30,500 {\an1}when you touch a surface that is contaminated. 293 00:14:33,100 --> 00:14:39,233 {\an1}(wildlife chittering) 294 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,333 NARRATOR: The caterpillar that produces silk 295 00:14:44,366 --> 00:14:47,366 is only one stage in the butterfly's 296 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,200 unique life cycle. 297 00:14:50,233 --> 00:14:53,666 {\an1}In all, it moves through four distinct phases: 298 00:14:53,700 --> 00:14:55,333 egg, 299 00:14:55,366 --> 00:14:58,000 caterpillar, 300 00:14:58,033 --> 00:15:00,700 chrysalis, 301 00:15:00,733 --> 00:15:03,000 {\an8}and adult. 302 00:15:03,033 --> 00:15:06,233 {\an7}The butterfly extracts itself from its chrysalis, 303 00:15:06,266 --> 00:15:08,866 {\an8}dazed and fragile... 304 00:15:08,900 --> 00:15:11,566 (rustling) 305 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,766 unfolding its wings and its body 306 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,266 {\an1}with a cloth-like rustling. 307 00:15:17,300 --> 00:15:19,900 When it emerges from its chrysalis, 308 00:15:19,933 --> 00:15:23,166 the adult has been completely transformed 309 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,600 {\an1}into one of the most delicate and graceful creatures 310 00:15:26,633 --> 00:15:28,800 in nature. 311 00:15:28,833 --> 00:15:29,900 And, of course, 312 00:15:29,933 --> 00:15:32,800 {\an1}the vivid and iridescent colors and patterns 313 00:15:32,833 --> 00:15:35,433 {\an1}of butterfly wings are their most striking feature... 314 00:15:35,466 --> 00:15:38,333 Nowhere seen more brilliantly 315 00:15:38,366 --> 00:15:41,333 than in the male of the morpho species 316 00:15:41,366 --> 00:15:43,700 {\an1}of the tropical rainforest. 317 00:15:43,733 --> 00:15:45,433 In flight, its wings 318 00:15:45,466 --> 00:15:48,333 {\an1}seem to give off blue flashes that are hard to miss, 319 00:15:48,366 --> 00:15:51,533 {\an1}even in the densest forest. 320 00:15:51,566 --> 00:15:56,166 Serge Berthier, a research physicist 321 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,466 {\an1}at the Paris Institute of Nanosciences, 322 00:15:58,500 --> 00:16:02,200 {\an1}talks about the wings' unique properties. 323 00:16:02,233 --> 00:16:05,000 (translated): Each species presents a slightly different blue 324 00:16:05,033 --> 00:16:08,433 {\an8}and has a slightly different wing beat, 325 00:16:08,466 --> 00:16:11,300 {\an7}and then variations of colors that we see here: 326 00:16:11,333 --> 00:16:13,200 {\an7}a phenomenon of iridescence 327 00:16:13,233 --> 00:16:16,600 {\an1}where the color varies in flight. 328 00:16:16,633 --> 00:16:19,600 It's part of the code of communication 329 00:16:19,633 --> 00:16:22,233 {\an1}between males and females. 330 00:16:22,266 --> 00:16:24,633 {\an1}(wildlife chittering) 331 00:16:24,666 --> 00:16:26,400 NARRATOR: It's an impressive adaptation 332 00:16:26,433 --> 00:16:28,300 {\an1}to the problem of finding a mate in the forest, 333 00:16:28,333 --> 00:16:32,000 {\an1}but it comes with a problem. 334 00:16:32,033 --> 00:16:34,200 What is so visible to the female butterfly 335 00:16:34,233 --> 00:16:38,666 is also noticeable to hungry birds. 336 00:16:38,700 --> 00:16:42,133 {\an1}BERTHIER (translated): The male has to find a way to parry this, 337 00:16:42,166 --> 00:16:45,266 {\an1}that is, being very visible while not getting caught 338 00:16:45,300 --> 00:16:47,900 {\an1}by the first predator that comes along. 339 00:16:49,266 --> 00:16:52,833 {\an7}The genius of this butterfly, like many others, 340 00:16:52,866 --> 00:16:55,166 {\an8}is that it does not fly straight. 341 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:58,100 {\an1}(wildlife chittering) 342 00:16:58,133 --> 00:17:00,533 NARRATOR: As it flits through the forest blinking blue, 343 00:17:00,566 --> 00:17:03,533 it follows an unpredictable zig-zag path, 344 00:17:03,566 --> 00:17:05,433 {\an1}making it hard to track. 345 00:17:07,333 --> 00:17:09,300 {\an1}BERTHIER (translated): So, you have a dotted line 346 00:17:09,333 --> 00:17:11,800 {\an1}zig-zagging like that, which makes it almost impossible 347 00:17:11,833 --> 00:17:13,966 {\an1}for a bird to calculate its trajectory 348 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,033 {\an1}and snap it up in flight. 349 00:17:20,033 --> 00:17:22,200 NARRATOR: It's the morpho's iridescent blue 350 00:17:22,233 --> 00:17:25,433 {\an1}that intrigues Serge and the other researchers the most. 351 00:17:25,466 --> 00:17:26,766 {\an1}They want to understand 352 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:32,233 {\an1}how nature produces a color that looks so... unnatural. 353 00:17:32,266 --> 00:17:36,000 (translated): What we see here is a close-up of this wing. 354 00:17:36,033 --> 00:17:36,966 We see that the blue 355 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,066 comes from the background scales. 356 00:17:40,100 --> 00:17:44,200 {\an1}And there are scales here that clog the joints on top of them. 357 00:17:44,233 --> 00:17:47,000 {\an1}These are covering scales, and they are transparent... 358 00:17:47,033 --> 00:17:48,033 {\an1}you can see through them. 359 00:17:48,066 --> 00:17:49,366 NARRATOR: The morpho uses 360 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,600 a very peculiar way to generate color. 361 00:17:52,633 --> 00:17:54,100 {\an1}It is a structural color, 362 00:17:54,133 --> 00:17:58,166 {\an1}which is intrinsically different from a pigment color. 363 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,633 {\an1}This is in contrast to regular pigment. 364 00:18:00,666 --> 00:18:02,566 Pigment are like granules of pigment 365 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:04,442 {\an1}that are inside of the cells that give something 366 00:18:04,466 --> 00:18:06,400 {\an1}a yellow or a red or a, or a green color. 367 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:10,666 NARRATOR: The pigment color results from 368 00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:13,066 {\an1}the partial reflection of daylight. 369 00:18:13,100 --> 00:18:15,600 {\an1}When a pigment reflects a red color, for instance, 370 00:18:15,633 --> 00:18:19,333 {\an1}it means it has absorbed all the other colors. 371 00:18:19,366 --> 00:18:21,433 {\an1}But then there's this other type of coloration 372 00:18:21,466 --> 00:18:24,466 that's actually not caused by a pigment. 373 00:18:24,500 --> 00:18:26,709 NARRATOR: The structures that produce the color of the morpho 374 00:18:26,733 --> 00:18:29,100 are visible under the microscope. 375 00:18:29,133 --> 00:18:33,400 {\an1}The wings show a regular pattern of raised surfaces, 376 00:18:33,433 --> 00:18:38,366 {\an1}each one just one ten-millionth of a meter in size. 377 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:40,100 It's the size of these structures 378 00:18:40,133 --> 00:18:43,033 that produce the wings' iridescence. 379 00:18:43,066 --> 00:18:45,966 It's caused by little bumps, or, or... 380 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,700 {\an1}Rugosities, they call them, 381 00:18:47,733 --> 00:18:50,966 or little deviations in the smoothness 382 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:52,200 {\an1}of the insect's skin. 383 00:18:52,233 --> 00:18:54,366 And when light bounces off of that, 384 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,866 our eyes perceive it as being a metallic, 385 00:18:56,900 --> 00:18:58,833 or shiny, or iridescent color. 386 00:19:00,433 --> 00:19:04,566 NARRATOR: The blue of the morpho's wing is not due to pigmentation, 387 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,200 {\an1}but is generated by the structure of the wing itself. 388 00:19:08,233 --> 00:19:10,900 {\an1}When light strikes the wing at certain angles, 389 00:19:10,933 --> 00:19:13,966 {\an1}its nanoscale feature selects only 390 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,233 {\an1}the blue frequencies, which are reflected, 391 00:19:17,266 --> 00:19:20,600 {\an1}resulting in an iridescent, metallic appearance. 392 00:19:20,633 --> 00:19:23,166 ♪ ♪ 393 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,100 {\an1}The surprising new insight into structural color 394 00:19:26,133 --> 00:19:27,233 {\an1}has inspired researchers 395 00:19:27,266 --> 00:19:30,600 to control light and produce color 396 00:19:30,633 --> 00:19:33,400 {\an1}without chemicals or paint 397 00:19:33,433 --> 00:19:35,766 in all sorts of other materials. 398 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:37,800 (laser humming) 399 00:19:37,833 --> 00:19:41,000 {\an1}At the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester 400 00:19:41,033 --> 00:19:42,433 {\an1}in the United States, 401 00:19:42,466 --> 00:19:45,933 {\an1}Chunlei Guo has succeeded in creating such structures. 402 00:19:45,966 --> 00:19:50,500 {\an1}(speaking indistinctly) 403 00:19:50,533 --> 00:19:52,400 {\an8}Inspired by this morpho butterfly, 404 00:19:52,433 --> 00:19:57,633 {\an7}so we actually can also imprint some of these 405 00:19:57,666 --> 00:20:01,866 {\an1}tiny micro, nanostructures onto a material surface 406 00:20:01,900 --> 00:20:04,633 and give them very unique properties. 407 00:20:06,300 --> 00:20:11,033 NARRATOR: Using an infrared laser with very short bursts of light, 408 00:20:11,066 --> 00:20:13,400 they are able to sculpt nano-sized structures, 409 00:20:13,433 --> 00:20:17,100 {\an1}measured in billionths of a meter, into metals. 410 00:20:17,133 --> 00:20:19,866 {\an1}This incredible method of 411 00:20:19,900 --> 00:20:22,500 {\an1}creating various colors on surfaces 412 00:20:22,533 --> 00:20:23,909 has not only allowed the researchers 413 00:20:23,933 --> 00:20:26,633 {\an1}to reproduce the color of the butterfly's wings, 414 00:20:26,666 --> 00:20:27,866 it also enables them 415 00:20:27,900 --> 00:20:30,966 to create a highly light-absorbing material 416 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:33,766 that could be called absolute black. 417 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:39,066 GUO: Colored metal actually will selectively absorb 418 00:20:39,100 --> 00:20:42,833 {\an1}a certain range of color, but reflect other colors 419 00:20:42,866 --> 00:20:46,533 so that it give you a certain colored appearance. 420 00:20:46,566 --> 00:20:49,800 {\an1}So we create this technology, so the black metal 421 00:20:49,833 --> 00:20:53,033 {\an1}actually will indistinguishly absorb 422 00:20:53,066 --> 00:20:57,166 {\an1}all colors of, of the spectrum, 423 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,000 {\an1}therefore it's, appear pitch-black. 424 00:20:59,033 --> 00:21:00,400 NARRATOR: These discoveries 425 00:21:00,433 --> 00:21:04,933 {\an1}have the potential to revolutionize solar power. 426 00:21:04,966 --> 00:21:08,333 {\an1}Chunlei's team found that applying these nanostructures 427 00:21:08,366 --> 00:21:10,466 to a solar panel 428 00:21:10,500 --> 00:21:14,300 {\an1}improved its efficiency by 130%. 429 00:21:14,333 --> 00:21:15,300 The nanostructures 430 00:21:15,333 --> 00:21:17,766 {\an1}allow the panel to absorb 431 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:19,733 almost the entire light spectrum, 432 00:21:19,766 --> 00:21:22,833 {\an1}minimizing loss of energy due to reflection. 433 00:21:22,866 --> 00:21:26,966 ♪ ♪ 434 00:21:32,733 --> 00:21:34,400 As well as transforming solar power, 435 00:21:34,433 --> 00:21:37,166 inspiration from butterfly wings 436 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,033 could lead to other innovations. 437 00:21:41,066 --> 00:21:43,066 WARE: Well, I mean, butterfly and moth wings 438 00:21:43,100 --> 00:21:44,700 {\an1}serve multiple purposes, right? 439 00:21:44,733 --> 00:21:46,433 {\an1}Primarily, they're for flight. 440 00:21:46,466 --> 00:21:49,200 {\an1}But then, the coloration and patterns that are on the wings 441 00:21:49,233 --> 00:21:50,333 are a signaling. 442 00:21:50,366 --> 00:21:51,876 Sometimes it's signaling to each other, 443 00:21:51,900 --> 00:21:53,140 {\an1}males signaling to other males, 444 00:21:53,166 --> 00:21:55,233 {\an1}or males signaling to females 445 00:21:55,266 --> 00:21:57,066 {\an1}that's the same species. 446 00:21:57,100 --> 00:22:00,833 Sometimes the signal is actually for a predator. 447 00:22:00,866 --> 00:22:02,900 (buzzing) 448 00:22:02,933 --> 00:22:05,233 NARRATOR: In nature, color plays a vital role 449 00:22:05,266 --> 00:22:09,433 in both reproduction and survival. 450 00:22:09,466 --> 00:22:13,233 ♪ ♪ 451 00:22:13,266 --> 00:22:15,633 {\an1}Through either pigment or structural color, 452 00:22:15,666 --> 00:22:16,866 butterfly wings 453 00:22:16,900 --> 00:22:19,066 {\an1}often create complex patterns 454 00:22:19,100 --> 00:22:22,200 that entomologists suspect are meant to 455 00:22:22,233 --> 00:22:24,333 {\an1}send signals not to mates, 456 00:22:24,366 --> 00:22:26,066 but to predators. 457 00:22:26,100 --> 00:22:28,566 And in some cases, 458 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:31,500 {\an1}present uncanny copies of similar colors and patterns 459 00:22:31,533 --> 00:22:33,666 {\an1}found in other living things. 460 00:22:33,700 --> 00:22:37,000 {\an1}Often, the butterflies and moths that you see are orange 461 00:22:37,033 --> 00:22:38,000 {\an1}or orange, yellow, and black. 462 00:22:38,033 --> 00:22:40,433 It's a signal that 463 00:22:40,466 --> 00:22:42,733 {\an1}these moths or butterflies are distasteful, 464 00:22:42,766 --> 00:22:45,233 and presumably birds only have to learn 465 00:22:45,266 --> 00:22:47,266 one big kind of color pattern. 466 00:22:47,300 --> 00:22:48,933 {\an1}Orange, black, yellow: avoid. 467 00:22:50,500 --> 00:22:52,009 NARRATOR: In the plant and animal world, 468 00:22:52,033 --> 00:22:53,600 {\an1}orange, yellow, and black 469 00:22:53,633 --> 00:22:56,033 {\an1}are sometimes associated with poison. 470 00:22:56,066 --> 00:22:58,533 And some butterflies seem to rely on those colors 471 00:22:58,566 --> 00:23:01,933 to discourage birds from eating them. 472 00:23:02,966 --> 00:23:05,700 WARE: And these two look really similar. 473 00:23:05,733 --> 00:23:10,633 {\an1}These are the monarch and the viceroy. 474 00:23:10,666 --> 00:23:14,233 {\an1}The monarch and the viceroy are easy to distinguish 475 00:23:14,266 --> 00:23:16,566 because the viceroy has this additional 476 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:21,966 {\an1}kind of line of dark color by the base of its wings. 477 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,700 {\an1}This is a distasteful monarch butterfly 478 00:23:24,733 --> 00:23:26,033 {\an1}that birds learn to avoid. 479 00:23:26,066 --> 00:23:30,166 {\an7}And the viceroy mimics the monarch's coloration 480 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,333 {\an8}presumably so that it also can be protected 481 00:23:33,366 --> 00:23:37,366 {\an1}and it doesn't get eaten by birds like, like blue jays. 482 00:23:39,733 --> 00:23:44,400 NARRATOR: Butterflies use a variety of defense mechanisms. 483 00:23:44,433 --> 00:23:48,333 Although some boldly wear the signs of toxicity, 484 00:23:48,366 --> 00:23:49,966 {\an7}others prefer to pass unseen. 485 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:51,866 {\an8}They melt into the surrounding colors 486 00:23:51,900 --> 00:23:54,100 {\an7}of their natural environment. 487 00:23:54,133 --> 00:23:57,133 {\an7}For example, the Greta oto, 488 00:23:57,166 --> 00:24:00,633 also known as a glasswing butterfly, 489 00:24:00,666 --> 00:24:03,500 {\an1}relies on a double defense: 490 00:24:03,533 --> 00:24:07,000 {\an1}displaying some warning colors while most of the wing 491 00:24:07,033 --> 00:24:09,066 {\an1}is almost totally transparent... 492 00:24:09,100 --> 00:24:12,333 {\an1}a most unusual adaptation. 493 00:24:12,366 --> 00:24:15,466 {\an1}The wings' surfaces have scarcely any reflectivity. 494 00:24:15,500 --> 00:24:18,666 Even glass and other human-made materials 495 00:24:18,700 --> 00:24:20,933 reflect some light. 496 00:24:23,933 --> 00:24:25,700 {\an1}But not this butterfly wing, 497 00:24:25,733 --> 00:24:29,566 {\an7}which makes it extremely interesting to scientists. 498 00:24:35,666 --> 00:24:37,300 Researchers at the 499 00:24:37,333 --> 00:24:39,433 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany 500 00:24:39,466 --> 00:24:41,400 are studying the unusual properties 501 00:24:41,433 --> 00:24:45,400 {\an1}of transparent-type wing like the Greta oto's. 502 00:24:45,433 --> 00:24:46,676 {\an1}HENDRIK HÖLSCHER (translated): What we see on top 503 00:24:46,700 --> 00:24:50,600 {\an1}are these nanostructures here, nano pillars, 504 00:24:50,633 --> 00:24:51,800 {\an1}which have random heights. 505 00:24:51,833 --> 00:24:55,066 {\an7}And also the distance between the nano pillars 506 00:24:55,100 --> 00:24:57,633 {\an7}is a little bit random. 507 00:24:57,666 --> 00:24:59,233 So they're not regularly arranged. 508 00:24:59,266 --> 00:25:01,266 And this randomness is important 509 00:25:01,300 --> 00:25:04,266 {\an1}for the anti-reflective properties of the butterfly. 510 00:25:04,300 --> 00:25:07,433 ♪ ♪ 511 00:25:07,466 --> 00:25:11,000 NARRATOR: This is where the secret of the high transparency lies: 512 00:25:11,033 --> 00:25:13,566 {\an1}the random distribution and size of 513 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:15,733 {\an1}these conical nanometric pillars 514 00:25:15,766 --> 00:25:18,366 create an anti-reflective layer, 515 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,133 allowing light rays, even the most grazing, 516 00:25:21,166 --> 00:25:24,200 {\an1}to pass through the wing 517 00:25:24,233 --> 00:25:26,766 without being dispersed or reflected. 518 00:25:30,500 --> 00:25:32,366 {\an8}(translated): This anti-reflective property 519 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:36,200 {\an8}is interesting for different types of applications, 520 00:25:36,233 --> 00:25:38,633 {\an7}like smartphones, for instance. 521 00:25:38,666 --> 00:25:40,466 In the summer, when the sun is shining, 522 00:25:40,500 --> 00:25:42,600 it's hard to read and it would be nice 523 00:25:42,633 --> 00:25:44,066 to have an anti-reflective screen. 524 00:25:44,100 --> 00:25:47,200 {\an7}And also for solar cells. 525 00:25:47,233 --> 00:25:49,900 {\an7}It would be interesting to have less reflection 526 00:25:49,933 --> 00:25:53,933 {\an1}and have more collection of the solar energy. 527 00:25:53,966 --> 00:25:58,000 NARRATOR: These researchers create a plastic film on which 528 00:25:58,033 --> 00:26:01,600 {\an1}they print nanostructures in imitation of those 529 00:26:01,633 --> 00:26:03,400 {\an1}in the crystalline-type wing. 530 00:26:03,433 --> 00:26:04,700 {\an1}Their goal is to create 531 00:26:04,733 --> 00:26:08,766 {\an1}anti-reflective materials that are highly transparent. 532 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,000 (machine whirring) 533 00:26:11,033 --> 00:26:12,133 (stops) 534 00:26:13,366 --> 00:26:15,500 The nanostructures of the wings 535 00:26:15,533 --> 00:26:17,066 {\an1}offer other properties, 536 00:26:17,100 --> 00:26:19,866 {\an1}such as the ability to repel water, 537 00:26:19,900 --> 00:26:23,133 {\an1}known as hydrophobicity. 538 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:32,600 {\an1}Staying dry is a matter of life and death for butterflies. 539 00:26:32,633 --> 00:26:34,866 Mist and rain would quickly ground them 540 00:26:34,900 --> 00:26:37,066 {\an1}if they weren't waterproof. 541 00:26:38,866 --> 00:26:40,166 (thunder rumbling) 542 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:44,033 {\an1}BERTHIER (translated): A butterfly must not get wet. 543 00:26:44,066 --> 00:26:48,066 {\an7}If the wings were wet and they touched each other, 544 00:26:48,100 --> 00:26:51,533 {\an7}they would stick together, and the butterfly would die. 545 00:26:52,733 --> 00:26:57,000 {\an1}So a butterfly wing is super-hydrophobic. 546 00:26:57,033 --> 00:27:00,300 {\an1}That is, the wing doesn't get wet... water forms beads. 547 00:27:00,333 --> 00:27:03,133 {\an1}(water falling softly) 548 00:27:03,166 --> 00:27:06,433 And then the beads roll off, cleaning the wing of 549 00:27:06,466 --> 00:27:09,833 {\an1}all of the dust and dirt it picks up along the way. 550 00:27:11,466 --> 00:27:14,433 NARRATOR: Thanks to its nanometric structures, 551 00:27:14,466 --> 00:27:18,000 {\an1}the morpho's wing doesn't just rid itself of water drops, 552 00:27:18,033 --> 00:27:21,500 {\an1}it breaks them down into a multitude of smaller drops 553 00:27:21,533 --> 00:27:24,733 {\an1}that flow more easily off the surface. 554 00:27:30,966 --> 00:27:32,866 {\an1}In his Rochester lab, 555 00:27:32,900 --> 00:27:35,633 {\an1}Chunlei Guo is exploring possible engineering 556 00:27:35,666 --> 00:27:40,033 {\an1}applications for this extremely hydrophobic material. 557 00:27:40,066 --> 00:27:43,566 {\an1}In one of his experiments, he starts by laser-etching 558 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:46,666 {\an1}a metallic surface with a nanoscale pattern 559 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:49,366 {\an1}inspired by the morpho wing. 560 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:52,566 {\an1}He's hoping to create the same water-repelling effect. 561 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:57,633 ♪ ♪ 562 00:27:57,666 --> 00:28:00,233 {\an1}When he drops water on the surface he has created, 563 00:28:00,266 --> 00:28:02,633 {\an1}it is totally repelled. 564 00:28:04,833 --> 00:28:06,766 {\an1}The experiment is a success. 565 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,166 {\an1}Water drops are not only repelled, 566 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,500 {\an8}they bounce back. 567 00:28:12,533 --> 00:28:14,966 {\an8}With this material, 568 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:21,100 {\an7}Chunlei's team seems to have created an unsinkable metal. 569 00:28:21,133 --> 00:28:24,333 {\an7}And what we did was, we actually utilized in, 570 00:28:24,366 --> 00:28:25,500 {\an7}build a metallic assembly 571 00:28:25,533 --> 00:28:28,200 {\an7}with a super-hydrophobic surface, 572 00:28:28,233 --> 00:28:32,733 {\an1}so that the hydrophobic surface, they are facing each other. 573 00:28:32,766 --> 00:28:37,733 And if you put this metallic assembly inside water, 574 00:28:37,766 --> 00:28:42,266 {\an1}and because the inside of the assembly is super-hydrophobic, 575 00:28:42,300 --> 00:28:46,033 {\an1}so that it will push the water out and will prevent the water 576 00:28:46,066 --> 00:28:49,200 squeezing into the metallic assembly, 577 00:28:49,233 --> 00:28:50,866 {\an1}and the air trapped inside will keep 578 00:28:50,900 --> 00:28:53,433 {\an1}the metallic assembly afloat. 579 00:28:53,466 --> 00:28:55,133 NARRATOR: Fabricating a ship's hull 580 00:28:55,166 --> 00:28:59,533 {\an1}using this design would have an obvious benefit. 581 00:28:59,566 --> 00:29:02,400 But Chunlei believes it could also help us adapt 582 00:29:02,433 --> 00:29:05,500 to climate change. 583 00:29:05,533 --> 00:29:08,433 {\an1}And as our ocean level continue to 584 00:29:08,466 --> 00:29:12,700 {\an8}go up in the future, a lot of city will have to be 585 00:29:12,733 --> 00:29:14,533 {\an1}built on top of the ocean. 586 00:29:14,566 --> 00:29:18,500 {\an1}And if we can deploy this unsinkable metal 587 00:29:18,533 --> 00:29:21,966 {\an1}for construction of the floating city, then the city 588 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:23,933 will never sink. 589 00:29:23,966 --> 00:29:28,333 ♪ ♪ 590 00:29:28,366 --> 00:29:31,300 NARRATOR: Who could have imagined that one day a ship... 591 00:29:31,333 --> 00:29:32,700 {\an1}or even a whole city... 592 00:29:32,733 --> 00:29:37,400 Might rest on a butterfly's wing? 593 00:29:37,433 --> 00:29:38,933 In California, 594 00:29:38,966 --> 00:29:41,400 {\an1}researchers work on combining transparency 595 00:29:41,433 --> 00:29:44,366 and the opposite of hydrophobicity... 596 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,133 {\an1}extreme water absorption. 597 00:29:47,166 --> 00:29:50,800 {\an1}What's at stake is not rising water, but glaucoma, 598 00:29:50,833 --> 00:29:55,600 {\an1}a group of eye conditions that can cause blindness. 599 00:29:55,633 --> 00:29:57,066 {\an1}Radwanul Hasan Siddique 600 00:29:57,100 --> 00:30:02,066 {\an1}at Caltech is working to create a tiny implant that would work 601 00:30:02,100 --> 00:30:08,500 {\an7}inside the eye to help detect this devastating condition. 602 00:30:08,533 --> 00:30:10,600 {\an8}So, in our lab, we make an optical implant 603 00:30:10,633 --> 00:30:13,633 {\an7}for continuously measure the eye pressure 604 00:30:13,666 --> 00:30:15,266 {\an7}for glaucoma progression measurement. 605 00:30:15,300 --> 00:30:16,866 ♪ ♪ 606 00:30:16,900 --> 00:30:20,600 NARRATOR: Glaucoma is a condition that damages the optic nerve, 607 00:30:20,633 --> 00:30:24,000 {\an1}most often caused by rising internal pressure in the eye. 608 00:30:25,766 --> 00:30:29,466 {\an1}Today, an implant could provide easy access 609 00:30:29,500 --> 00:30:32,500 {\an1}and constant monitoring for a patient at risk. 610 00:30:32,533 --> 00:30:36,866 {\an1}But of course, anything inside the eye needs to be transparent, 611 00:30:36,900 --> 00:30:40,000 especially an artificial implant. 612 00:30:40,033 --> 00:30:43,133 {\an1}Glass has around eight to ten percent reflection. 613 00:30:43,166 --> 00:30:46,833 {\an1}And that reflection basically, you can see a glare, right? 614 00:30:46,866 --> 00:30:49,900 {\an1}So if you see in the windows or glass at some angle, 615 00:30:49,933 --> 00:30:52,300 {\an1}you can see glare because of the reflection of the light. 616 00:30:52,333 --> 00:30:53,900 {\an1}But this glasswing butterfly, 617 00:30:53,933 --> 00:30:58,700 {\an1}although it's glass-like, but it doesn't have any reflection, 618 00:30:58,733 --> 00:31:00,300 {\an1}or almost no reflection. 619 00:31:00,333 --> 00:31:02,866 NARRATOR: For Radwanul, an implant in the eye 620 00:31:02,900 --> 00:31:05,733 {\an1}cannot be water-repellent like the butterfly wing. 621 00:31:05,766 --> 00:31:08,733 {\an1}He needs to engineer something different. 622 00:31:11,566 --> 00:31:14,000 SIDDIQUE: The implant is going to be in the inside of your eye 623 00:31:14,033 --> 00:31:16,666 {\an1}in the aqueous humor, which is a fluid. 624 00:31:16,700 --> 00:31:20,233 {\an1}So if it's, repels water, then it's hard to implant, 625 00:31:20,266 --> 00:31:22,233 {\an1}and it won't survive there. 626 00:31:22,266 --> 00:31:25,200 {\an1}So in our case, we need basically an opposite property, 627 00:31:25,233 --> 00:31:26,866 {\an1}which is super-hydrophilic. 628 00:31:26,900 --> 00:31:31,066 ♪ ♪ 629 00:31:31,100 --> 00:31:32,533 NARRATOR: To make his implant, 630 00:31:32,566 --> 00:31:36,900 {\an1}Radwanul blends two chemical compounds at very high speed. 631 00:31:38,300 --> 00:31:42,366 {\an1}Their combination creates nanostructures like those of 632 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:45,800 {\an1}the glasswing butterfly out of a hydrophilic material 633 00:31:45,833 --> 00:31:49,600 that patients' eyes can tolerate. 634 00:31:49,633 --> 00:31:52,566 {\an1}These randomly distributed dome-shaped nanostructures 635 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:57,033 {\an1}conserve the transparent properties of their model. 636 00:31:57,066 --> 00:31:58,966 {\an1}Because the gaps between them are so narrow, 637 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,933 {\an1}bacteria cannot get a grip on the surface, 638 00:32:01,966 --> 00:32:05,033 {\an1}reducing the risk of infection. 639 00:32:05,066 --> 00:32:07,333 SIDDIQUE: Once we introduce a nanostructure like the 640 00:32:07,366 --> 00:32:10,233 glasswing-inspired nanostructures on the implant, 641 00:32:10,266 --> 00:32:14,466 {\an1}it shows better performance, has a better optical readout, 642 00:32:14,500 --> 00:32:17,200 {\an1}and also, it doesn't show any anti-fouling, 643 00:32:17,233 --> 00:32:18,500 {\an1}any fouling properties, so... 644 00:32:18,533 --> 00:32:21,366 {\an1}Which means no tissue are encapsulating, 645 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:25,033 {\an1}no, no bacteria are sitting, and we may take a measurement 646 00:32:25,066 --> 00:32:27,166 {\an1}over a year inside a rabbit eye 647 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,633 {\an1}without seeing any kind of fouling. 648 00:32:29,666 --> 00:32:33,133 ♪ ♪ 649 00:32:37,933 --> 00:32:41,633 (birds twittering) 650 00:32:43,633 --> 00:32:47,400 NARRATOR: Not all butterfly wings are visually arresting. 651 00:32:48,933 --> 00:32:50,433 {\an1}The nanostructures in wings 652 00:32:50,466 --> 00:32:54,166 {\an1}are not only involved in color, transparency, 653 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,300 {\an1}or tricking predators. 654 00:32:57,333 --> 00:33:01,000 {\an1}Some of them serve to provide direct metabolic benefits 655 00:33:01,033 --> 00:33:03,000 for survival. 656 00:33:03,033 --> 00:33:05,933 ♪ ♪ 657 00:33:09,266 --> 00:33:13,000 Like all insects, butterflies and moths 658 00:33:13,033 --> 00:33:14,866 are cold-blooded. 659 00:33:14,900 --> 00:33:16,466 {\an1}No butterfly can take off 660 00:33:16,500 --> 00:33:19,633 {\an1}without a minimum of sunlight to heat its body. 661 00:33:21,033 --> 00:33:23,500 {\an1}Dark-winged butterflies absorb the heat of the sun 662 00:33:23,533 --> 00:33:27,333 {\an1}more readily and seem to have an advantage over those 663 00:33:27,366 --> 00:33:30,333 {\an1}with lighter-colored wings. 664 00:33:30,366 --> 00:33:32,566 ♪ ♪ 665 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:34,666 It might seem that a white-winged butterfly, 666 00:33:34,700 --> 00:33:36,366 {\an1}like the cabbage white butterfly, 667 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:40,000 would be operating at a huge disadvantage. 668 00:33:40,033 --> 00:33:42,066 {\an1}And yet, in the early morning, 669 00:33:42,100 --> 00:33:45,266 even on cloudy days, it is one of the first arrivals 670 00:33:45,300 --> 00:33:49,300 to gather nectar in flower fields. 671 00:33:49,333 --> 00:33:51,466 {\an1}How does it manage it? 672 00:33:54,666 --> 00:33:57,000 ♪ ♪ 673 00:33:57,033 --> 00:34:00,333 {\an7}At the Paris Institute of Nanosciences, 674 00:34:00,366 --> 00:34:06,900 {\an1}Serge Berthier is interested in this phenomenon. 675 00:34:06,933 --> 00:34:08,609 {\an1}BERTHIER (translated): So the white butterflies 676 00:34:08,633 --> 00:34:10,966 {\an1}cannot directly absorb light 677 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,300 through the wings because they're white, 678 00:34:13,333 --> 00:34:16,133 {\an1}and reflect all the energy. 679 00:34:16,166 --> 00:34:19,500 {\an1}What they do when they need to warm up is use their wings 680 00:34:19,533 --> 00:34:22,666 as concentrators before taking off. 681 00:34:22,700 --> 00:34:25,766 {\an1}They place themselves facing the sun, 682 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,900 {\an1}then open and close their wings like this. 683 00:34:28,933 --> 00:34:31,500 {\an1}As it's very reflective, 684 00:34:31,533 --> 00:34:33,833 {\an1}it sends a lot of light, and concentrates the light 685 00:34:33,866 --> 00:34:37,100 {\an1}on its back, the thorax, where the wings' 686 00:34:37,133 --> 00:34:39,966 {\an1}abductor muscles are located. 687 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:41,900 {\an1}So when the wings concentrate the light, 688 00:34:41,933 --> 00:34:44,733 {\an1}the thorax will absorb all this energy. 689 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:51,400 NARRATOR: The reflective white coloration acts as a mirror 690 00:34:51,433 --> 00:34:54,433 {\an1}to concentrate heat onto the animal's body. 691 00:34:56,266 --> 00:34:57,633 {\an1}In the tiniest details, 692 00:34:57,666 --> 00:35:02,633 {\an1}Serge Berthier can verify the way heat is sent to the thorax. 693 00:35:02,666 --> 00:35:06,500 (translated): As with all scales, we see a network of striations, 694 00:35:06,533 --> 00:35:09,033 {\an1}but what's particular to the cabbage white butterfly 695 00:35:09,066 --> 00:35:11,866 {\an1}is that there is a network of counter-striations, 696 00:35:11,900 --> 00:35:13,233 in this direction. 697 00:35:13,266 --> 00:35:16,666 {\an1}And small compartments are formed inside. 698 00:35:16,700 --> 00:35:18,566 NARRATOR: The cabbage white's scales 699 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:21,633 {\an1}contain tightly packed ovoid-shaped granules, 700 00:35:21,666 --> 00:35:23,866 {\an1}like eggs in a carton. 701 00:35:23,900 --> 00:35:27,900 {\an1}They reflect the sun's rays, but not in all directions. 702 00:35:27,933 --> 00:35:31,033 {\an1}They focus the light and heat like a magnifying glass. 703 00:35:31,066 --> 00:35:33,966 {\an1}The butterfly then angles its wings in a way that sends 704 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,466 {\an1}the heat down to its back. 705 00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:39,833 {\an1}This is how the butterfly warms up. 706 00:35:39,866 --> 00:35:43,133 (translated): The butterfly just has to open and close its wings 707 00:35:43,166 --> 00:35:45,533 {\an1}to regulate its temperature. 708 00:35:45,566 --> 00:35:48,433 {\an1}In fact, it's the master of its own temperature. 709 00:35:48,466 --> 00:35:52,533 ♪ ♪ 710 00:35:52,566 --> 00:35:56,733 NARRATOR: Finding new ways to concentrate sunlight is important 711 00:35:56,766 --> 00:36:00,333 {\an1}for humans, too, in the search for cheap and efficient 712 00:36:00,366 --> 00:36:02,766 {\an1}replacements for fossil fuels. 713 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:06,833 {\an8}In her lab at the University of Exeter, 714 00:36:06,866 --> 00:36:09,133 {\an1}Katie Shanks is adapting the cabbage white's 715 00:36:09,166 --> 00:36:12,566 {\an1}reflective nanostructures to solar panels, 716 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:17,433 {\an1}working to increase their output while reducing their size. 717 00:36:17,466 --> 00:36:20,033 {\an7}So by looking at the wings of the cabbage white butterfly, 718 00:36:20,066 --> 00:36:21,700 {\an8}we can actually reduce the weight 719 00:36:21,733 --> 00:36:23,600 {\an7}a very significant amount. 720 00:36:23,633 --> 00:36:26,100 {\an1}So in initial studies, we've been able to improve 721 00:36:26,133 --> 00:36:29,200 {\an1}the power-to-weight ratio by 17 times, 722 00:36:29,233 --> 00:36:30,533 {\an1}which is, is a massive amount. 723 00:36:30,566 --> 00:36:33,066 {\an1}And what I'm specifically looking at is using those 724 00:36:33,100 --> 00:36:36,333 {\an1}very lightweight nanostructured wings to make our own 725 00:36:36,366 --> 00:36:40,333 {\an1}very compact advanced solar panel 726 00:36:40,366 --> 00:36:43,933 {\an1}built into any materials. 727 00:36:43,966 --> 00:36:46,733 ♪ ♪ 728 00:36:46,766 --> 00:36:50,166 NARRATOR: Today, by combining the properties of the glasswing 729 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:51,566 {\an1}and cabbage white wings, 730 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,833 {\an1}researchers are hoping to develop a new generation 731 00:36:54,866 --> 00:36:57,633 of solar panels. 732 00:36:57,666 --> 00:37:00,733 {\an1}SHANKS: So the glasswing butterfly would be for the surface, 733 00:37:00,766 --> 00:37:02,066 {\an1}the entrance aperture. 734 00:37:02,100 --> 00:37:04,133 {\an1}And the cabbage white butterfly 735 00:37:04,166 --> 00:37:06,133 {\an1}would be for the side walls, 736 00:37:06,166 --> 00:37:08,466 {\an1}just before the solar cells. 737 00:37:08,500 --> 00:37:10,966 {\an1}And overall, that means we get this kind of 738 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,633 {\an1}increased power output from all the solar cells, 739 00:37:13,666 --> 00:37:17,200 {\an1}but not using as much PV material. 740 00:37:17,233 --> 00:37:18,200 {\an1}And you can also make it 741 00:37:18,233 --> 00:37:22,000 {\an1}a lot smaller and lightweight, as well. 742 00:37:22,033 --> 00:37:24,766 {\an1}I mean, all of the butterflies and lots of other things 743 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:26,833 {\an1}in nature have had to do this, you know, 744 00:37:26,866 --> 00:37:29,266 {\an1}as, as they've developed, they've evolved, 745 00:37:29,300 --> 00:37:32,100 {\an1}and they've tweaked themselves to suit their surroundings. 746 00:37:32,133 --> 00:37:34,533 {\an1}And I think we're now realizing we have to do the same 747 00:37:34,566 --> 00:37:37,233 {\an1}in terms of tweaking our, you know, energy demands 748 00:37:37,266 --> 00:37:40,833 {\an1}and our uses and our materials that we use to kind of make sure 749 00:37:40,866 --> 00:37:42,666 {\an1}we are also sustainable and surviving, 750 00:37:42,700 --> 00:37:44,533 {\an1}just as the butterflies are. 751 00:37:44,566 --> 00:37:46,233 ♪ ♪ 752 00:37:46,266 --> 00:37:49,566 NARRATOR: It's remarkable that butterfly wings can offer protection 753 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:51,533 {\an1}from predators and rain, 754 00:37:51,566 --> 00:37:54,733 {\an1}and also capture the sun's rays to warm up. 755 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:59,166 {\an1}But that's not the end of their impressive biology. 756 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:03,366 {\an1}Their delicate antennae serve as highly sensitive 757 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:06,133 {\an1}chemical-detecting noses. 758 00:38:06,166 --> 00:38:08,266 {\an1}They have those little pits that are inside of, 759 00:38:08,300 --> 00:38:10,266 are along the length of the antennae. 760 00:38:10,300 --> 00:38:13,433 {\an7}And those sensory pits are basically capable of, 761 00:38:13,466 --> 00:38:16,100 {\an8}of detecting kind of chemical compounds, 762 00:38:16,133 --> 00:38:18,833 {\an7}and basically olfaction, or, or smelling. 763 00:38:18,866 --> 00:38:22,066 ♪ ♪ 764 00:38:22,100 --> 00:38:25,966 NARRATOR: The antennae of the male Bombyx are loaded with a multitude 765 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,733 {\an1}of microscopic sensing organs, 766 00:38:28,766 --> 00:38:35,633 {\an1}known as sensilla, that vibrate at very high frequency. 767 00:38:35,666 --> 00:38:38,900 {\an1}They can home in on the one kind of pheromone molecule 768 00:38:38,933 --> 00:38:42,033 {\an1}they are looking for, among all the other ones 769 00:38:42,066 --> 00:38:45,166 {\an1}in suspension in the atmosphere. 770 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:48,600 {\an1}In fact, some researchers believe that the silk moths 771 00:38:48,633 --> 00:38:52,233 {\an1}have some of the most highly developed senses of smell 772 00:38:52,266 --> 00:38:54,100 in the living world. 773 00:38:54,133 --> 00:38:56,766 {\an1}Males are thus able to detect a female 774 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:59,100 {\an1}from over six miles away, 775 00:38:59,133 --> 00:39:02,333 {\an1}an extraordinary feat which scientists working on 776 00:39:02,366 --> 00:39:05,300 {\an1}the detection of explosives or toxic gases 777 00:39:05,333 --> 00:39:09,233 {\an1}would love to harness. 778 00:39:09,266 --> 00:39:10,866 {\an8}♪ ♪ 779 00:39:10,900 --> 00:39:14,333 {\an7}Valérie Keller and her team are part of a program 780 00:39:14,366 --> 00:39:18,733 {\an8}for protecting civilian populations. 781 00:39:18,766 --> 00:39:23,066 (translated): You can see on the antennas that the sensilla's structure 782 00:39:23,100 --> 00:39:25,866 {\an1}is kind of like tiny sticks. 783 00:39:25,900 --> 00:39:29,100 We drew inspiration from them. 784 00:39:29,133 --> 00:39:32,200 {\an7}In fact, we are trying to do bio-inspiration by making 785 00:39:32,233 --> 00:39:35,266 {\an7}a synthesis in the lab that enables us 786 00:39:35,300 --> 00:39:39,133 {\an1}to duplicate this architecture you see in nature. 787 00:39:39,166 --> 00:39:40,533 NARRATOR: Mechanically duplicating 788 00:39:40,566 --> 00:39:46,200 {\an1}the anatomical genius of the Bombyx is not an easy task. 789 00:39:46,233 --> 00:39:49,300 {\an1}Valérie Keller's team is creating a forest of sensilla 790 00:39:49,333 --> 00:39:55,100 {\an1}via a chemical reaction on a titanium base. 791 00:39:55,133 --> 00:39:57,133 {\an1}The result is a forest-like arrangement 792 00:39:57,166 --> 00:40:01,266 {\an1}of titanium dioxide nanotubes. 793 00:40:01,300 --> 00:40:03,333 {\an1}If a chemical molecule in the air 794 00:40:03,366 --> 00:40:04,966 {\an1}attaches to the nanotubes, 795 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:08,300 {\an1}its weight changes the vibration frequency of the forest, 796 00:40:08,333 --> 00:40:13,366 {\an1}slowing them down in a way that can set off an alarm. 797 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:17,100 TNT, sarin gas, and other toxic chemicals 798 00:40:17,133 --> 00:40:19,500 {\an1}all have their own weights. 799 00:40:19,533 --> 00:40:22,533 {\an1}Nanotubes are programmed to react to those signals 800 00:40:22,566 --> 00:40:23,900 to trigger alarms. 801 00:40:23,933 --> 00:40:28,700 {\an1}At the French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis, 802 00:40:28,733 --> 00:40:33,466 {\an1}Denis Spitzer foresees a big future for these detectors. 803 00:40:33,500 --> 00:40:35,200 {\an8}(speaking French) 804 00:40:35,233 --> 00:40:38,566 {\an8}(translated): We can come up with stationary detectors, but then we can go on 805 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:40,433 {\an7}basing them on the butterfly, that is, 806 00:40:40,466 --> 00:40:43,633 we can start to make the detectors fly, 807 00:40:43,666 --> 00:40:47,033 {\an1}and the idea came to us to implant these detectors 808 00:40:47,066 --> 00:40:50,400 {\an1}on drones, so that the military 809 00:40:50,433 --> 00:40:53,800 {\an1}or civil security people can detect dangerous compounds. 810 00:40:53,833 --> 00:40:55,500 {\an1}It could be war toxins, 811 00:40:55,533 --> 00:40:59,433 {\an1}or sarin gas, or other extremely dangerous compounds. 812 00:40:59,466 --> 00:41:01,066 {\an1}Because when the person feels 813 00:41:01,100 --> 00:41:05,233 {\an1}the first symptoms of gas like that, it is already too late. 814 00:41:05,266 --> 00:41:09,533 {\an8}(drone whirring) 815 00:41:09,566 --> 00:41:12,700 NARRATOR: Drone surveillance of large urban areas 816 00:41:12,733 --> 00:41:16,800 {\an1}could save major populations from terrorist gas attacks. 817 00:41:16,833 --> 00:41:22,766 (drone whirring) 818 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:28,433 ♪ ♪ 819 00:41:28,466 --> 00:41:31,300 (insects chittering) 820 00:41:31,333 --> 00:41:33,433 (birds twittering) 821 00:41:33,466 --> 00:41:37,566 {\an1}The amazing evolutionary tricks of butterflies and moths 822 00:41:37,600 --> 00:41:42,200 {\an1}are not limited to their wings, or their antennae. 823 00:41:42,233 --> 00:41:44,966 Unlike many insects, they don't have what might be 824 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,833 {\an1}recognized as a mouth. 825 00:41:47,866 --> 00:41:50,100 {\an1}Most of the butterflies and moths that we, we think of 826 00:41:50,133 --> 00:41:53,400 {\an1}have a sucking mouth part, like a proboscis, 827 00:41:53,433 --> 00:41:56,600 {\an1}that is kind of coiled up, that kind of is like a straw. 828 00:41:56,633 --> 00:41:58,233 {\an1}And it kind of extends outwards 829 00:41:58,266 --> 00:42:01,666 {\an1}with this cranial sucking pump, and it sucks up 830 00:42:01,700 --> 00:42:04,300 {\an8}nectar from flowers. 831 00:42:04,333 --> 00:42:08,466 {\an8}♪ ♪ 832 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,300 {\an8}NARRATOR: Many butterflies live only for a few weeks. 833 00:42:17,333 --> 00:42:20,666 {\an7}But one, called Heliconius, stands out, 834 00:42:20,700 --> 00:42:23,866 {\an7}with a lifespan closer to six months. 835 00:42:23,900 --> 00:42:28,466 {\an8}♪ ♪ 836 00:42:28,500 --> 00:42:32,400 {\an7}This relatively long-lived butterfly fascinates 837 00:42:32,433 --> 00:42:36,933 {\an8}Adriana Briscoe and Larry Gilbert. 838 00:42:36,966 --> 00:42:39,466 {\an7}One of the ways we think they can live so long 839 00:42:39,500 --> 00:42:42,700 {\an7}is because they have changed their diet. 840 00:42:42,733 --> 00:42:47,433 {\an7}They live a long time because they have developed this ability 841 00:42:47,466 --> 00:42:49,933 to harvest pollen. 842 00:42:49,966 --> 00:42:51,500 ♪ ♪ 843 00:42:51,533 --> 00:42:56,000 NARRATOR: While most butterflies feed mainly on nectar, 844 00:42:56,033 --> 00:42:58,433 {\an1}Heliconius adds pollen to its diet. 845 00:42:58,466 --> 00:43:02,266 {\an1}The pollen sticks to the entire length of its proboscis. 846 00:43:02,300 --> 00:43:05,766 {\an1}The pollen might keep the butterfly healthy, 847 00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:09,700 {\an1}but Adriana has found a possible medical application 848 00:43:09,733 --> 00:43:13,333 derived from the way Heliconius digests the nutrient. 849 00:43:13,366 --> 00:43:16,566 {\an1}She's collaborating with chemist Rachel Martin. 850 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:18,466 {\an1}This is the part of the proboscis 851 00:43:18,500 --> 00:43:20,100 {\an1}where fluids can go in... Mm-hmm. 852 00:43:20,133 --> 00:43:22,333 {\an1}...and they can also go out. 853 00:43:22,366 --> 00:43:24,500 {\an8}I was really fascinated to find out that 854 00:43:24,533 --> 00:43:25,800 {\an8}it acts like a sponge. 855 00:43:25,833 --> 00:43:27,142 {\an8}I was kind of always picturing this being 856 00:43:27,166 --> 00:43:29,233 {\an7}like a giant drinking straw. Oh, yeah, no. 857 00:43:29,266 --> 00:43:31,633 BRISCOE: You can see that there are these ridges 858 00:43:31,666 --> 00:43:35,866 {\an1}shown in green, 859 00:43:35,900 --> 00:43:40,000 {\an1}and those are perfect grooves for pollen to get stuck in. 860 00:43:40,033 --> 00:43:40,966 When the butterflies 861 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:43,033 probe the flower, 862 00:43:43,066 --> 00:43:45,766 {\an1}and the pollen grains start to get stuck in those grooves, 863 00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:50,033 {\an1}the butterflies then release saliva from the tip 864 00:43:50,066 --> 00:43:51,200 of their proboscis, 865 00:43:51,233 --> 00:43:53,400 {\an1}and that starts to glue things together. 866 00:43:53,433 --> 00:43:55,376 MARTIN: It makes sense that the butterfly would have enzymes 867 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:56,633 {\an1}that are really optimized 868 00:43:56,666 --> 00:43:59,466 {\an1}for getting into those little nooks and crannies, 869 00:43:59,500 --> 00:44:00,933 and digesting the protein, 870 00:44:00,966 --> 00:44:04,733 because pollen is about 20% protein, so it's a... 871 00:44:04,766 --> 00:44:06,333 {\an1}That's a lot. It is a lot. 872 00:44:06,366 --> 00:44:10,333 NARRATOR: The Heliconius's long life might be explained in part 873 00:44:10,366 --> 00:44:13,400 by this intake of high-protein pollen, 874 00:44:13,433 --> 00:44:16,933 {\an1}which it actually digests on the outside of its proboscis 875 00:44:16,966 --> 00:44:20,233 {\an1}thanks to a very particular type of enzyme. 876 00:44:20,266 --> 00:44:23,866 That enzyme is known as cocoonase, 877 00:44:23,900 --> 00:44:28,100 {\an1}because it was originally discovered in silk moths. 878 00:44:28,133 --> 00:44:34,200 {\an7}Silk moths have one version of this enzyme which they use 879 00:44:34,233 --> 00:44:37,533 {\an7}to digest their silk cocoons 880 00:44:37,566 --> 00:44:39,366 so they can escape. 881 00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:41,800 If that enzyme is not functioning, 882 00:44:41,833 --> 00:44:45,833 {\an1}they die in their cocoons. 883 00:44:45,866 --> 00:44:49,300 NARRATOR: By extracting this cocoonase enzyme to reproduce 884 00:44:49,333 --> 00:44:51,200 {\an1}its dissolving properties on a large scale, 885 00:44:51,233 --> 00:44:54,966 {\an1}Adriana hopes to alleviate 886 00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:59,966 {\an1}potentially serious medical conditions like blood clots. 887 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:04,433 BRISCOE: Blood clots are very common in the United States. 888 00:45:04,466 --> 00:45:10,066 {\an1}It turns out you can take cocoonase, and in a test tube, 889 00:45:10,100 --> 00:45:12,366 you can mix it up with a blood clot 890 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:15,366 {\an1}and it'll break it down into its component parts. 891 00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:17,833 ♪ ♪ 892 00:45:17,866 --> 00:45:20,533 NARRATOR: Like the silk protein fibroin, 893 00:45:20,566 --> 00:45:27,000 {\an1}the cocoonase protein is also compatible with human biology. 894 00:45:27,033 --> 00:45:29,600 {\an1}And the longevity Heliconius 895 00:45:29,633 --> 00:45:32,666 {\an1}may glean from pollen shows how tightly the evolution 896 00:45:32,700 --> 00:45:35,366 {\an1}of butterflies depends on the plants they feed on. 897 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:41,333 {\an1}Plants and butterflies have mutual evolution. 898 00:45:41,366 --> 00:45:43,766 {\an1}From egg to chrysalis, 899 00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:47,066 {\an1}many butterfly species are born, grow up, and metamorphose 900 00:45:47,100 --> 00:45:51,933 {\an1}on individual plant species with which they are associated. 901 00:45:51,966 --> 00:45:55,500 {\an1}You sometimes have a species of butterfly or moth 902 00:45:55,533 --> 00:45:57,666 {\an1}that is the only thing that can pollinate 903 00:45:57,700 --> 00:46:01,000 {\an1}a particular, a particular species of, of flower. 904 00:46:01,033 --> 00:46:04,366 {\an1}And so, these really tight interactions mean that 905 00:46:04,400 --> 00:46:07,466 {\an1}if we lose one of those members of this partnership, 906 00:46:07,500 --> 00:46:09,966 {\an1}then you often end up losing both species. 907 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:15,366 ♪ ♪ 908 00:46:15,400 --> 00:46:18,900 NARRATOR: The fates of butterflies and plants are forever linked, 909 00:46:18,933 --> 00:46:21,866 {\an1}to such a degree that we cannot hope to preserve 910 00:46:21,900 --> 00:46:26,633 {\an1}butterflies without preserving their ecosystems. 911 00:46:28,966 --> 00:46:34,266 {\an1}Today's climate change may have very unfortunate consequences. 912 00:46:37,400 --> 00:46:42,433 ♪ ♪ 913 00:46:44,300 --> 00:46:46,500 {\an1}Spring has come to Mexico, 914 00:46:46,533 --> 00:46:50,333 {\an1}signaling to the monarchs the time to return. 915 00:46:50,366 --> 00:46:54,766 {\an1}But these butterflies, who migrated south in the fall, 916 00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:56,533 {\an1}now have to fly back north. 917 00:46:56,566 --> 00:46:59,733 ♪ ♪ 918 00:46:59,766 --> 00:47:03,566 {\an1}How will they know which way to fly? 919 00:47:03,600 --> 00:47:06,866 (birds twittering) 920 00:47:06,900 --> 00:47:13,766 {\an1}Christine Merlin keeps a small group of monarchs for study. 921 00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:15,400 MERLIN: Just want a cooperative one. 922 00:47:15,433 --> 00:47:17,833 You know, cooperate with me. 923 00:47:17,866 --> 00:47:20,366 {\an1}That one is actually in the process of laying an egg. 924 00:47:20,400 --> 00:47:24,400 NARRATOR: She wants to explore and understand which specific genes 925 00:47:24,433 --> 00:47:27,333 {\an1}trigger the migration and guide them on their way. 926 00:47:27,366 --> 00:47:29,366 This one just did. 927 00:47:29,400 --> 00:47:31,933 Okay, this one is getting ready. 928 00:47:31,966 --> 00:47:35,966 NARRATOR: Christine believes that changes in the environment 929 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:37,000 trigger a response 930 00:47:37,033 --> 00:47:39,466 {\an1}in the migratory genes of the monarchs, 931 00:47:39,500 --> 00:47:43,133 {\an1}a process known as epigenetic. 932 00:47:43,166 --> 00:47:44,700 I'm not as good as my student. 933 00:47:44,733 --> 00:47:46,866 (laughs) 934 00:47:46,900 --> 00:47:50,500 NARRATOR: So with each butterfly's egg, she analyzes a range of genes 935 00:47:50,533 --> 00:47:53,166 {\an1}to discover which are involved with the timing 936 00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:56,366 {\an1}of the monarchs' navigation and which 937 00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:58,366 {\an1}with the direction they follow. 938 00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:01,766 MERLIN: One of the best example of epigenetic changes 939 00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:05,733 {\an8}that occur in, in monarch migration 940 00:48:05,766 --> 00:48:09,900 {\an7}is that of the recalibration of their sun-compass orientation 941 00:48:09,933 --> 00:48:15,266 {\an1}from southward in the fall to northwards in, in the spring. 942 00:48:15,300 --> 00:48:17,566 And... 943 00:48:17,600 --> 00:48:20,000 We do believe that epigenetic changes 944 00:48:20,033 --> 00:48:23,533 {\an1}are responsible for this switch in flight orientation. 945 00:48:26,866 --> 00:48:29,166 NARRATOR: Migrating monarchs also use 946 00:48:29,200 --> 00:48:33,866 {\an1}magnetic fields to guide their flight orientation. 947 00:48:33,900 --> 00:48:35,800 {\an1}To find genes that allow monarchs to sense 948 00:48:35,833 --> 00:48:39,033 the magnetic field, Christine uses a Faraday cage 949 00:48:39,066 --> 00:48:43,000 {\an1}that blocks the outside electromagnetic influences. 950 00:48:43,033 --> 00:48:46,466 {\an1}There, she generates her own magnetic field 951 00:48:46,500 --> 00:48:49,233 to test the reaction of the monarchs' behavior. 952 00:48:51,466 --> 00:48:53,400 MERLIN: We use a magnetic coil 953 00:48:53,433 --> 00:48:56,933 to test the response of monarch butterfly 954 00:48:56,966 --> 00:48:59,733 to the reversal of the inclination. 955 00:48:59,766 --> 00:49:04,966 {\an1}And when butterfly sense and respond to this reversal, 956 00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:06,476 {\an1}they start flapping their wings really strongly, 957 00:49:06,500 --> 00:49:07,766 {\an1}they have an active flight. 958 00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:12,300 {\an1}And once we reverse the magnetic field back to normal, 959 00:49:12,333 --> 00:49:15,066 {\an1}then the behavioral responses extinguishes itself. 960 00:49:15,100 --> 00:49:20,666 ♪ ♪ 961 00:49:20,700 --> 00:49:23,733 NARRATOR: The evidence is in: monarchs are genetically programmed 962 00:49:23,766 --> 00:49:27,500 {\an1}to align with the magnetic field, and we can see them 963 00:49:27,533 --> 00:49:31,433 flap their wings when they sense it. 964 00:49:31,466 --> 00:49:34,566 {\an1}When the seasons change, causing a change of temperature, 965 00:49:34,600 --> 00:49:37,033 {\an1}a change of the angle of the sun, 966 00:49:37,066 --> 00:49:38,966 as well as a change 967 00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:40,933 {\an1}in the daily sunshine duration, 968 00:49:40,966 --> 00:49:42,566 {\an1}the butterflies' genes 969 00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:46,300 {\an1}trigger a signal to migrate. 970 00:49:46,333 --> 00:49:47,600 ♪ ♪ 971 00:49:47,633 --> 00:49:49,800 {\an1}When in Canada and the U.S., 972 00:49:49,833 --> 00:49:52,100 {\an1}the onset of fall signals departure. 973 00:49:52,133 --> 00:49:53,800 ♪ ♪ 974 00:49:53,833 --> 00:49:56,700 "Colder... go south!" 975 00:49:56,733 --> 00:50:01,600 When in Mexico, spring tells them, "Go north!" 976 00:50:01,633 --> 00:50:06,066 {\an1}Given the extent that monarchs depend on temperature, 977 00:50:06,100 --> 00:50:07,933 {\an1}it's not surprising that climate change 978 00:50:07,966 --> 00:50:10,466 {\an1}worries researchers like Delbert, 979 00:50:10,500 --> 00:50:13,100 {\an1}who monitors monarch populations 980 00:50:13,133 --> 00:50:16,633 {\an1}in part to understand the risks we all face. 981 00:50:16,666 --> 00:50:17,900 GREEN: In that way, 982 00:50:17,933 --> 00:50:21,566 {\an1}by studying monarchs' biology very closely, 983 00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:24,633 {\an1}it indirectly tells us 984 00:50:24,666 --> 00:50:29,133 {\an7}our own impacts on their environment that they cover. 985 00:50:29,166 --> 00:50:32,700 {\an7}So we want to watch what's happening to them, 986 00:50:32,733 --> 00:50:37,533 {\an1}watch how they're being impacted, such that we know then 987 00:50:37,566 --> 00:50:41,100 {\an1}how other species may potentially being impacted, 988 00:50:41,133 --> 00:50:43,966 {\an1}because they're being impacted by those same climate change. 989 00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:50,666 ♪ ♪ 990 00:50:50,700 --> 00:50:52,733 {\an1}Well, butterflies and moths are really a big part 991 00:50:52,766 --> 00:50:55,133 {\an1}of the whole ecosystem. 992 00:50:55,166 --> 00:50:57,300 {\an1}So, if we were to lose a certain species, 993 00:50:57,333 --> 00:50:59,633 {\an1}or groups of species, like butterflies and moths, 994 00:50:59,666 --> 00:51:01,500 {\an1}we'd lose pollinators, for sure, 995 00:51:01,533 --> 00:51:05,833 but we'd also lose an important diet for birds. 996 00:51:05,866 --> 00:51:07,200 {\an1}We'd lose an important diet 997 00:51:07,233 --> 00:51:08,666 {\an1}for other insects, like dragonflies. 998 00:51:08,700 --> 00:51:11,133 {\an1}We'd lose important diet items even for people. 999 00:51:11,166 --> 00:51:13,209 {\an1}Because there are people that like to eat these, these 1000 00:51:13,233 --> 00:51:14,333 as food items. 1001 00:51:14,366 --> 00:51:16,733 So, it's a kind of a cascading effect. 1002 00:51:16,766 --> 00:51:19,233 {\an1}It's not just that you would lose this one insect. 1003 00:51:19,266 --> 00:51:22,933 {\an1}You would actually lose many members of the community 1004 00:51:22,966 --> 00:51:24,500 to which it belongs. 1005 00:51:24,533 --> 00:51:26,133 {\an1}And that's, I think, the thing 1006 00:51:26,166 --> 00:51:27,700 {\an1}that we're, we're working against. 1007 00:51:27,733 --> 00:51:30,833 ♪ ♪ 1008 00:51:30,866 --> 00:51:32,366 NARRATOR: Butterflies and moths 1009 00:51:32,400 --> 00:51:34,966 {\an1}are inspiring scientists and engineers 1010 00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:38,833 {\an1}to create remarkable inventions. 1011 00:51:38,866 --> 00:51:40,666 {\an1}From the nanoscopic structures on their wings 1012 00:51:40,700 --> 00:51:43,566 that create color and transparency 1013 00:51:43,600 --> 00:51:47,000 {\an1}to their ability to repel water and fight infection, 1014 00:51:47,033 --> 00:51:51,966 they offer lessons about what's possible 1015 00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:54,866 {\an1}at the very smallest scale. 1016 00:51:54,900 --> 00:51:58,000 {\an1}But they also present us with a warning 1017 00:51:58,033 --> 00:52:00,133 {\an1}about what's at stake if we fail 1018 00:52:00,166 --> 00:52:07,200 {\an1}as stewards of this endlessly inventive natural environment. 1019 00:52:07,233 --> 00:52:09,766 ♪ ♪ 1020 00:52:31,866 --> 00:52:36,800 {\an8}♪ ♪ 1021 00:52:36,833 --> 00:52:38,542 {\an8}ALOK PATEL: Discover the science behind the news 1022 00:52:38,566 --> 00:52:40,466 {\an7}with the "NOVA Now" podcast. 1023 00:52:40,500 --> 00:52:43,933 {\an7}Listen at pbs.org/novanowpodcast 1024 00:52:43,966 --> 00:52:47,066 {\an7}or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. 1025 00:52:47,100 --> 00:52:51,166 {\an8}ANNOUNCER: To order this program on DVD, visit ShopPBS 1026 00:52:51,200 --> 00:52:54,133 {\an7}or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS. 1027 00:52:54,166 --> 00:52:57,000 {\an7}Episodes of "NOVA" are available with Passport. 1028 00:52:57,033 --> 00:53:01,166 {\an7}"NOVA" is also available on Amazon Prime Video. 1029 00:53:01,200 --> 00:53:06,433 {\an8}♪ ♪ 1030 00:53:20,633 --> 00:53:25,733 {\an8}♪ ♪