Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40456873›Full record

ReviewCommunications biology2025

Palaeo-bioinspiration draws on the fossil record to advance innovation.

Annabelle Aish, Chris Broeckhoven, Valentin Buffa, Tom Challands, Anton Du Plessis, Tom Fletcher, Eberhard Frey, Romain Garrouste, Alexandra Houssaye, Guillaume Lecointre and 5 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Communications biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Annabelle AishBioinspire-Museum, Direction Générale Déléguée à la Recherche, l'Expertise, la Valorisation et l'Enseignement (DGD REVE), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 Rue Cuvier, CP 17, 75005, Paris, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-0924-8929
Chris BroeckhovenAdvanced Concepts Team, European Space Agency, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
Valentin BuffaEvolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4255-7822
Tom ChallandsSchool of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE, Scotland, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7759-8966
Anton Du PlessisResearch Group 3D Innovation, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4370-8661
Tom FletcherSchool of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
Eberhard FreySonnenbergstraße 27, 75180, Pforzheim, Germany.
Romain GarrousteInstitut de Systématique, Évolution et Biodiversité, UMR ISYEB 7205 CNRS MNHN SU EPHE UA, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CP 50, 45 Rue Buffon, 75005, Paris, France.
Alexandra HoussayeUMR 7179 CNRS/MNHN, Département Adaptations du vivant, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier CP-55, 75005, Paris, France.
Guillaume LecointreInstitut de Systématique, Évolution et Biodiversité, UMR ISYEB 7205 CNRS MNHN SU EPHE UA, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CP 50, 45 Rue Buffon, 75005, Paris, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7282-0516
Valentina PerriconeStazione Zoologica Anthon Dhorn of Naples, Villa Comunale, 80121, Naples, NA, Italy.
Luce-Marie PetitCentre d'études et d'expertise en biomimétisme, 62 rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin, 60300, Senlis, France.
Vikram ShyamNASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
Thomas SpeckPlant Biomechanics Group @ Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestraße 1, D-79104, Freiburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2245-2636
Michael HabibDinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA. biologyinmotion@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4537-5319

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bioinspiration is an approach to innovation based on the observation of biological systems, of which only 0.1% remain since life began 3.7 billion years ago. Expanding the scope of bioinspiration to the fossil record greatly increases the diversity of potential biological "muses" and provides a means to understand the form, function and origins of current living systems. This extended approach, here termed "palaeo-bioinspiration", has already been applied to the fields of hydrodynamics, aeromechanics, actuators, protective technology and building construction. To reach its full potential, palaeo-bioinspiration has to overcome the misconception that fossils are "failures" or "primitive", and temper the widespread belief that extant biodiversity is inherently "optimised". By encouraging interdisciplinarity, investing in technical infrastructure and collaborating with both Natural Science institutions and industry, palaeo-bioinspiration could become a powerful asset within the bioinspiration domain.

Indexed as

FossilsPaleontologyAnimalsBiodiversityBiological Evolution

Identifiers

PMID40456873
PMCPMC12130348

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.