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Designing smarter crops and botany with cactus-inspired attributes is a pretty big leap.
以仙人掌的特质为灵感设计出更聪明的作物和植物是相当大的进展。
But researchers are now identifying other superpowers that can be applied in dramatic ways to innovations that don't require plants at all -- for instance, new building materials.
但研究人员现在正在寻找其他的超能力，可以在完全跳脱植物的状况下，以惊人的方式运用在各种创新上--例如新的建筑材料。
One of the most exciting advancements involves Copiapoa, a genus that comprises at least 32 species, mostly exclusive to the coastal Atacama region in northern Chile, the driest nonpolar desert on Earth.
最令人振奋的进展之一跟龙爪球属的仙人掌有关，这个属有至少32个物种，大部分只分布在智利北部的阿塔卡马沿岸地区，也就是地球上最干燥的非极区沙漠。
For scientists, unlocking the mystery of how they endure starts with their unique shape.
对科学家来说，想解开这些植物的耐受力之谜，要先从它们独特的形状开始。
Most plants are five to six inches in diameter and can form into gray-greenish cushions that dot an eerie landscape otherwise devoid of vegetation.
大部分的龙爪球属都是直径约5到6英寸、会形成灰绿色的垫状，点缀在这片没有其他植被的诡异地貌上。
"Very little is known about the biology of these plants," says Carol Pena, a botanist from the University of Concepción in Chile who regularly treks into the barren hills of the backcountry to explore how they sustain themselves.
“我们对龙爪球的生物学知之甚少，”智利康塞普森大学的植物学家卡洛·佩尼亚说，她会定期爬上这些偏远荒芜的山丘，探索龙爪球究竟如何生存。
She often finds them tucked between folds of rock in a gully or set on steep cliffs facing the coast.
她常发现它们挤在沟壑的岩缝中，或是长在面朝海岸的峭壁上。
As Pena explains it, copiapoas probably survive by "drinking" the salty camanchaca fog that sweeps in from the sea every morning, as well as the dew that condenses on their spines and skin.
佩尼亚解释称，龙爪球可能是靠着“喝”每天早上从大海飘过来、咸咸的卡门却加雾（智利北部从海岸飘往内陆的滨海浓雾）以及凝结在尖刺和表皮上的露水维生。
That revelation, documented by many scientists, has inspired biomimicry researcher Tegwen Malik, from Swansea University in the United Kingdom, to think about whether the dew-collecting process might be replicated in metal structures.
已经有许多科学家记录到这项发现，而英国斯旺西大学的仿生学学者泰格玟·马立克受到启发，开始思考这种搜集露水的过程可否在金属结构上复制出来。
Specifically, Malik took a close look at the conical, one-and-a-quarter-inch spines of the green and amber globular species C. cinerea var. haseltoniana and found that their surface has a series of tiny grooves that broaden at the base.
具体而言，马立克仔细检视了外表是绿色和琥珀色的球状仙人掌“逆鳞丸”长达一又四分之一英寸的锥形尖刺，发现这些刺的表面有一连串细小的沟槽，靠基部的部分会比较宽。
"This creates a surface roughness gradient that enables dew droplets to be channeled along them even against gravity," she says.
“这造成了表面粗糙度的渐次变化，让露珠可以沿着这些满槽、甚至逆着重力方向流动，”她说。
Starting in 2013, she set out to re-create that structure by engineering a flat steel and aluminum replica of the stem and spines of the cactus, which she began testing under a series of different temperatures and humidities.
从2013年起，她着手重现这种结构，以钢板和铝板复制出这种仙人掌的茎和刺，然后在各种不同的温度和湿度中进行测试。
After several years of experiments -- testing indoor and outdoor conditions, and with various cooling methods -- she finally got it to work.
经过几年的实验--在室内和户外条件下利用各种冷却方式测试--终于成功了。
In 2023, Malik published a study showing that the prickly, contoured surface was 8 percent more efficient at harvesting dew than a flat sheet used as a baseline.
2023年，马立克发表了一篇研究，证实这种有弧度且带刺的表面收集露水的效能，比当作基准的平面金属板高出了8%。
To optimize her design, she imagines desert homes with these water-collecting features.
为了优化她的设计，她设想了具有这些集水功能的沙漠住宅。
The innovation could even be adopted more widely as a humanitarian measure to secure clean drinking water in arid regions that lack lifesaving resources.
这样的创新甚至可以有更广泛的运用，作为在缺乏救命资源的干旱地区能确保取得干净饮用水的人道援助手段。
"The easiest way could be to place the dew-harvesting surfaces on roof tiles, but you could also have these structures in tents in the desert, for example," she says.
“最简单的办法可能就是把可收集露水的表面放在屋顶瓦片上，但也可以用在其他地方，例如沙漠的帐篷上”，她说。
