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Scientists may have found one answer to the problem of water shortages. It is a new material that collects water from the air. They got their idea from a small beetle that lives in the desert in Africa. The deserts of the Skeleton Coast in Namibia are very dry, but the Namib desert beetle is an expert at surviving in hot and dry conditions. Its shell is covered in small bumps that collect tiny water droplets from the air. The water is enough to keep the beetle alive. Scientists studied the shape and material of the beetle's bumps. They want to use what they found out about the beetle to make their own materials that can collect water from the air. This will help people who live in very dry areas.

科学家找到了缺水办法。新型材料能够吸收空气中的水分。灵感来源于非洲沙漠中的甲壳虫。纳米比亚“骷髅海岸”极其干燥，但纳米布沙漠甲壳虫却应付自如。其背部布满小突起，它能够吸收空气中的水滴。这些水足够甲壳虫存活。就形状和材质，科学家对小突起进行了研究。通过研究，科学家希望发明出“吸水”材料。帮助干燥地区民众解决饮水问题。

The scientists believe this new technology could help in many areas of our life. They said it could be very useful for power plants and for the heating and air conditioning in airplanes, cars and trains. One of the scientists, Philseok Kim, said: "Thermal power plants, for example, rely on condensers to quickly convert steam to liquid water. Our design could help speed up that process and even allow for operation at a higher temperature, significantly improving the overall energy efficiency." Another scientist, Joanna Aizenberg, said she was looking forward to the future of getting ideas for new technologies from nature. She said: "Everybody is excited about bio-inspired materials research."

科学家相信，新技术能够应用于多个方面。它可以改善飞机、汽车以及火车的供暖和空调设备，还可以增强电厂能效。菲尔斯克·金姆认为：“例如火电厂，火电厂依靠冷凝器，将水蒸气迅速液化成水。这种材料或将加速液化过程，甚至可以增加温度，大大提高能效。”乔安娜·艾森贝格教授希望能从自然界寻找灵感，研发新技术。她表示：“人们对仿生材料研究表示期待。”