What happened: beagle tongue micro-features inspired an electronics-cooling material

Scientists reported fine hair-like structures on beagles’ tongues that spread saliva across the tongue and help the liquid evaporate quickly. Using the biological design idea, the researchers developed a cooling material named BioCCS for electronics cooling. BioCCS uses microscopic grooves to promote rapid liquid spreading and nanowires to weaken water–water bonding, which helps water form thinner layers that can evaporate faster.

Background and earlier position: why faster evaporation matters for cooling

What changed now: translation from tongue surface structures to engineered micro- and nano-features

Researchers translated a biological surface function into materials design through biomimicry. Researchers used beagle tongue hair-like surface features as inspiration for two main elements in BioCCS:

• Microscopic grooves: grooves guide liquid spreading across the cooling surface, increasing the area available for evaporation. • Nanowires: nanowires weaken water–water bonding so water forms thin films instead of staying as larger droplets.

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