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ASYMMETRY DRIVES BIOLOGICAL MOTORS. "In biological materials, piezoelectric properties are related to the presence of oriented biopolymer molecules, such as polypeptides, polysaccharides, and polynucleotides, the structure of which are characterized by non-centrosymmetric point groups." https://lnkd.in/ejQXn-P View in LinkedIn

CONSTRAINTS OF SYMMETRY. "The physical properties of all the materials are well known to be determined by their symmetry. The lower the symmetry, the richer the palette of material physical properties. On the other hand, the lower is the symmetry of a system, the more ordered it is. Certainly, living organic materials are highly ordered, and one may expect properties characteristic for low-symmetry materials, such as, for example, piezoelectric and pyroelectric effects." http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-011-4094-2_1 View in LinkedIn

CRYSTAL STRUCTURES GENERATE ASSYMETRY. "One of the most important manifestations of electromechanical coupling in biological systems is piezoelectricity, which stems from the crystal structure of most biopolymers including cellulose, collagen, keratin, chitin, amylose, and DNA. Piezoelectricity has been found in a number of biological systems including bones, teeth, wood, proteins, polysaccharides, etc." https://lnkd.in/ejQXn-P View in LinkedIn

PHOTONIC CRYSTALS in nature (responsible for the extraordinary colors of feathers, shells, insects) were effectively the first semiconductors, by separating, gating, and differentiating streams of photons into separated, assymetrical channels to undergo a number of known physical phenomena, such as interference and reflectivity to achieve a shimmering effect. Crystalline or layered structures are at the heart of the ability to manipulate energy. View in LinkedIn

ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS IN BIOLOGY. "Since the discovery in the late 18th century of electrically induced mechanical response in muscle tissue, coupling between electrical and mechanical phenomena has been shown to be a near-universal feature of biological systems." https://lnkd.in/ejQXn-P View in LinkedIn

ASSYMETRY IS PROGRAMMABLE. "Pasteur was probably the first to suggest over 100 years ago that biological systems have chiralic dissymmetric properties and that these properties are important for the functioning of the biological systems. Much later, researchers began to study piezolectric, pyroelectric, and ferroelectric properties of biological materials." http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-011-4094-2_1 View in LinkedIn

"THE PIEZOELECTRIC effect was discovered in 1880 and has since been found in crystals, ceramics, bone, proteins and DNA. It has also been put to use. Electric cigarette lighters and scanning probe microscopes couldn't work without it, to name a few." http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2012/05/13/electricity-from-viruses/ View in LinkedIn

FORCE GENERATES CHARGE. "In piezoelectric materials, application of mechanical stress yields electrical charge (direct piezoelectric effect). If an electrical field is applied to a piezoelectric sample, it produces mechanical strain (converse piezoelectric effect)." https://lnkd.in/ejQXn-P View in LinkedIn

CHANNELING A SIGNAL. "Piezoelectricity is the accumulation of a charge in a solid in response to mechanical stress." This can therefore be used to program inert materials, since the charge can be made into information. http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2012/05/13/electricity-from-viruses/ View in LinkedIn

PROGRAMMABLE PHENOMENA. "Many questions remain. What is the molecular mechanism of biological ferroelectricity, what are possible physiological and pathological implications, and can we take advantage of the phenomena in bio-electronics interfaces?" https://lnkd.in/euQKRwF View in LinkedIn