Nature has played an important role in the evolution of human beings. It has more or less been the crux of the inspiration for the various inventions of man since the very early ages. Biology has had to solve engineering and other common problems since the appearance of life on earth. Design and function in plants and animals have been optimised under evolutionary pressures over millions of years, a small step at a time. These long lead times do not fit easily with the more frenetic pace of the engineering world of today, but to dismiss on these grounds the solutions that nature has arrived at would be foolish and arrogant. Therefore, it is not surprising that mankind has always admired biological structures and often been inspired by them, for we can appreciate their aesthetic attributes as well as their engineering and design content. Some early examples of engineering structures that borrowed ideas from nature include the Eiffel Tower, Crystal Palace, and all manner of primitive and rather ineffectual flying machines.