Desert horned lizards that drink captured water from their skin inspire water-harvesting system
By 
Frankie Macpherson2026-06-25T08:30:00
Careful observation of these lizards solves mystery of how they squeeze water into their mouths and could help extract water from soil in arid regions
A bioinspired system for harvesting water from soil offers a sustainable solution to water scarcity in arid environments, according to the Seoul National University and Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology researchers who developed it.
Desert horned lizards (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) have unique skin microchannels to enable water collection in the dry climate of North America where they live. Exactly how they drink the collected water, however, has ‘long remained elusive’, according to the research team.