Humans gills inspired by diving beetles
By studying how beetles can trap air to keep from drowning, researchers suggest artificial gills that mimic such a trick could help people breathe underwater.

Scientists in England investigated super-water-repellant surfaces. These possess infinitesimally tiny structures that rise like trees in a forest, on which water droplets rest. The structures trap air between the surface they jut up from and the water on top of them.

Insects and spiders usually drown when submerged. However, aquatic insects such as the great diving beetle Dytiscus marginalis possess rigid hairs on their abdomen that repel water so much they create a silvery film of air that does not collapse. The silk nests of some ground-dwelling spiders and the eggshells of a number of insects also can develop these sheaths of air.