Nature Screen: Butterfly Blueprints

PBS NOVA documentary Butterfly Blueprints

Butterflies are perhaps the world’s most beloved insects. But beneath their colorful charm, there’s a wealth of hidden scientific secrets that show butterflies to be smarter and more resilient than we ever imagined.

In Butterfly Blueprints, NOVA captures astonishing fresh insights on their adaptability and behavior: this new research is inspiring, groundbreaking technology including more efficient solar power cells, odor detectors more sensitive than a dog’s nose, and bulletproof vests made from genetically modified butterfly silk that’s tougher than Kevlar. Butterfly-inspired advances even extend down to the nanoscale. Visible from miles away, the startling metallic blue of the Morpho butterfly is due to the diffraction of light from nanoscale structures in their wings, an effect that’s now being applied to counterfeit-proof currency.

Free with Admission
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