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I find it intriguing how differently learning is handled by different "students". A group of scientists taught a group of captive-raised monkeys the concept of money by getting them to associate desired behavior with the reward of a small metal circle, which they could then put in a specifically designed vending machine for whatever food treat (visible through windows) they were in the mood for.
Not long after, they noticed something. Male monkeys were performing--and even over-performing--the desired behaviors. Upon getting their "coin", they'd either get a food treat or just hand the "coin" over to a female, who would then reward the male with sex. Yup, we taught monkeys about money and the FIRST thing they invented was sex for hire.
Now we teach a computer about stresses and physics and calculus and all that goes into this kind of research, and the stress-optimized designs it comes up with all look vaguely biological. That last photo, the piece that looks like it should clip together, reminds me a LOT of the structure of bird bones, which have just about the best stress-for-weight ratio found above the benthic zones of the oceans.
If the current political administration hadn't just gutted every bit of scientific funding (even NOAA lost a massive chunk of its budget...good luck directing your military without weather satellites!) I'd be a lot more excited about the immediate future of this kind of research.
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