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  Contents
 
Chapter 1 Wood as an engineering material
  Advantages and disadvantages compared with other materials; Structure of the material and its effect on strength in various loading modes; Problems of joining, and how they are overcomes; Problems of dimensional stability, and how they are overcome; Use in the form of sheet material; Stiffness of boxes fabricated from orthotropic sheets such as plywood; Prevention of deterioration; Further reading
 
Chapter 2 Uniform stress - A design rule for biological load carriers
  Introduction; Axiom of uniform stress; Optimisation methods; Conclusions
 
Chapter 3 Nature and shipbuilding
  The jungle of the sea; Wooden shipbuilding: the basic problem; Shipbuilding-related wood properties
 
Chapter 4 The structural efficiency of trees
  Introduction; Loading conditions; Adaptive growth; Optimal structural features; Optimal material features; Case study on adaptive growth; Research; Conclusion
 
Chapter 5 Application of the homeostasis principle to expand Gaudí’s funicular technique
  Introduction; The funicular model; The Homeostatic Model; Conclusions; Final reflection
 
Chapter 6 Bones: the need for intrinsic material and architectural design
  Introduction; Variations in lamellar properties within osteons; Variations in bone properties with age and between individuals; Variations in lamellar properties in remodelled equine bone; Discussion and Conclusions
 
Chapter 7 Restoration of biological and mechanical function in orthopaedics: A role for biomimesis in tissue engineering
  Introduction; Tissue engineering; Tissue engineering scaffolds; Natural biomaterials and skeletons; Biomimetic materials chemistry; Gene manipulation in tissue engineering; Conclusion
 
Chapter 8 Design in nature
  Introduction; Genotypic/predictive - safe life; Phenotypic/adaptive; Cross-over from prediction to adaptation; Behavioural; Implications for Biomimesis