Biologists have investigated a number of systems which, given the nature of evolution, bear eerie resemblance to the systems engineers have designed to solve si

Biologists have investigated a number of systems which, given the nature of evolution, bear eerie resemblance to the systems engineers have designed to solve similar problems. Here's an example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagellum#Motor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagellum#Motor Over the decades people gradually uncovered more and more of the structure and ultimately recognized that the flagellum motor has components that correspond to engineered motors, with rotors, stators, energy sources, rings, bearings, etc. Amusingly, after all the effort, we recognized that the motor greatly resembles ATP synthase- one of the most core energy management proteins we have (which carries out a totally unrelated function). I imagine that any rationally designed human engineering product could be understood by a biophysicist with no real technical knowledge beyond basic electrical and mechanical engineering. See also "The Salvation of Doug", which gives an absolutely hilarious analogy between using scientific methods to understand biology, and reverse-engineering a car factory: """Emboldened by his successes, the next morning the geneticist tied the hands of an individual dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase in one hand and a laser pointer in the other (he was a vice president). That evening the geneticist, and Doug (although he would not openly admit it), anxiously waited to see the effect on the cars. They speculated that the effect might be so great as to prevent the production of the cars entirely. To their surprise, however, that afternoon the cars rolled off the assembly line with no discernible effect."""