Widespread concerns over the impact of human activity on the environment have resulted in
a desire to replace artificial functional materials with naturally derived alternatives. As such …

Through the use of the limited materials palette, optimally designed micro-and
nanostructures, and tightly regulated processes, nature demonstrates exquisite control of …

Liquid crystals play an important role in biology because the combination of order and
mobility is a basic requirement for self-organisation and structure formation in living systems …

Biological photonic structures can precisely control light propagation, scattering, and
emission via hierarchical structures and diverse chemistry, enabling biophotonic …

Nature has mastered the construction of nanostructures with well-defined macroscopic
effects and purposes. Structural colouration is a visible consequence of the particular …

Melanin is a widespread multifunctional biological pigment that has emerged as a promising
platform for applications in coating, catalysis, energy, drug delivery, and medical therapy …

Structural colors, generated by the interaction of interference, diffraction, and scattering
between incident light and periodic nanostructured surfaces with features of the same scale …

Over the course of their wildly successful proliferation across the earth, the insects as a
taxon have evolved enviable adaptations to their diverse habitats, which include adhesives …

Natural creatures have evolved elaborate photonic nanostructures on multiple scales and
dimensions in a hierarchical, organized way to realize controllable absorption, reflection, or …

Highlights•Tyrosine metabolism is responsible for insect cuticle coloration and
hardening.•Hard and rigid beetle cuticle has a distinctive morphology and …