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On this page, you will find a collection of short videos from members of the Bio-inspired Photonics (BIP) Group. Based in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, the BIP group explores how plants and animals create vivid colours and what we can learn from them. Through these videos, and with the frequent help of electron microscopes, you will have a chance to see the world through our eyes, the eyes of young scientists from across the world working on a wide range of natural and naturally-inspired materials. We hope you enjoy this way of looking at the world and are yourself inspired to find out more about our work.


Structural colouration in nature – Aurimas Narkevicius

Shiny particles from plants – Benjamin Droguet

Wax platelets on leaves of the purple spiderwort create a surprising colour – Gea T. van de Kerkhof

Microscopic Baklava: Making Beautiful Mistakes – James Dolan

Raphide Crystals in Alocasia – Miranda Sinnott-Armstrong

White pigment made of natural cellulose – Yating Zhang

Symbiosis in photosynthetic sea slugs – Samuel Humphrey

Building microscale architectures using nanoscale shrimp wastes – Zihao Lu