Nature has had millennia to optimize biomaterials for useful properties,from lightweight strength to walking on smooth, vertical surfaces. Mother-of-pearl, and spider silk,cholla wood "skeletons" and gecko feet are all pleasurable examples of nature's brilliant materials engineering. The study of gecko feet spurred research into dry nano-adhesives, and research into lightweight yet twist-resistant tubes rediscovered the structure of cholla wood.
Source: phys.org