The Nature of Materials

This first essay is about a pending marriage between biology and some of the technologies of engineering. It is a story of a long-standing flirtation that has been consummated a number of times, but never properly solemnised, despite repeated attempts, and no one is quite sure how many of the offspring, if any, have been viable. Whether the union will be blessed in the near future is anyone‘ s guess. In the hope of helping the marriage on its way, I start with four lucky things the bride has to wear at the wedding for the marriage to succeed, at least in one of the more recent Western traditions.