Richard Hammond: 'We can learn a lot from the butterfly and woodpecker The new series, he explains, "combines two passions for me. I'm fascinated by science and I've made a lot of science shows, but equally by the natural world, and that predates my love of cars and indeed of science. So pulling those two together was very exciting. It is a passion piece, I suppose. While it is not the most challenging of programmes, it is certainly entertaining (Hammond does a nice line in self-deprecating wit) and excellent at explaining clearly the mysteries of animals" bodies. At one stage, Hammond builds a mechanical replica of a giraffe, complete with blood flowing from a "heart" up the long neck, to show how the animal should faint when standing up and how its head should explode when it bends down to drink water. Except that it doesn't. That's because the giraffe has internal valves that constrict the flow of blood, a technology now being used by a company that has designed a suit to help fighter pilots cope with G-forces to ensure they don't black out when performing the most violent of manoeuvres. Some of the animal-inspired devices that have been invented seem so obvious, one wonders why biomimetics is not the first port of call for any designer. But as Professor Stuart Burgess, of Bristol University, says: "Biomimetics is not easy because biological systems are incredibly complex and often very hard to copy." Professor George Jeronimidis, who heads the centre of biomimetics at Reading University, explains that the plant kingdom is often the first port of call. Plants are easier, in a sense. They don't have a brain, they don't have a nervous system. It is far harder to clarify things with animals. Prof Jeronimidis adds these are early days, and that the biomimetic companies and research departments that emerged over the last decade "are just scratching the surface... it is a huge, absolutely huge area for us to explore." The original applications of biomimetics were for materials - complex functional structures, such as coatings and paints inspired by butterfly wings or lotus plants. But increasingly, scientists are delving into the sensory side of animals - how they see and hear, to find out whether these can be replicated in the human world. In the new programme, Hammond examines how harbour seals, with their super-sensitive whiskers, are inspiring vehicle designers trying to create a self-driving truck, able to sense - and react to - the smallest bump on the road. It is an absolutely dazzling autonomous truck. And I was so surprised that the seal, and the sensitivity of its whiskers, who lives in the dark water, experiences the world in the same way," Hammond says. The presenter is the first to admit that he is merely an old-fashioned broadcaster - "a tool in the box, alongside the director and cameraman" - and not a trained scientist. He is as at home hamming it up presenting Total Wipeout ("It stung," he says, when the BBC ended the show's successful run) as he is examining Egyptian fruit bats. But rarely has it been such an exciting time to try to communicate the complexities of science to a mainstream audience. Every day another story hits the headlines - be it wind farms, energy-saving light bulbs, or badger culls - that is rooted in an understanding, or misunderstanding, of science. "Science, social organisation, politics are ever more converging on both a macro and micro scale," says Hammond. Right down to our own homes. Science is becoming about alternative fuels, but also about limiting consumption; science has become about lifestyle. He gives me a trademark twinkle, before launching into another tale about Cape vultures. Sharks Emulating the skin of a shark, Speedo created a whole-body swimsuit called the Fastskin Bodysuit in 2006 for elite swimmers. The suit is made of polyurethane woven fabric with a texture based on shark scales. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, two thirds of the swimmers wore Speedo suits. Bats A mountain bike that can be ridden by a completely blind rider has been developed using the sonar technology that bats use. Comms Design, a Leeds company, has taken the existing concept of a vibrating white stick, used by blind people, to develop a bike whose handles vibrate the closer a rider gets to an obstacle. Lotus plants Superhydrophobic - super-water-repellent - surfaces are found on lotus leaves and butterfly wings. They are not smooth but have millions of tiny hairs (in the case of lotus plants) or a honeycomb texture (butterfly wings) so the water never penetrates the surface, but rolls off, taking any dirt particles with it. Self-cleaning paints for buildings have now been developed based on this concept. 'Richard Hammond's Miracles of Nature" starts on Monday on BBC One at 9pm