SCT: Network Technology: Biology Does It Better 

Though natural and engineered systems
share an overarching goal, one system
appears have a clear advantage

This article was originally published in Science & Culture Today.

Network Technology: Biology Does It Better
by David F. Coppedge
Science & Culture Today, 30 March 2026 

We are surrounded by networks. The internet is a prime example, but there are many others: highway systems, air traffic control networks, power grids, and even social networks. In generic terms, a network is a collection of independent entities that cooperate to transmit and receive information. For instance, automobiles have independent drivers, but millions of people can travel crowded highways safely by following the rules of the road. Someday robots may replace human drivers in freeway networks. New applications in technology are proliferating. Many of us have marveled at the drone shows popular at celebrations where thousands of lighted drones controlled by a computer can create fantastic animations in the sky at night.

In human experience, we learn how to network in many ways with our bodies and minds, such as in sports, social events, and businesses. Orchestras, choirs and marching bands are familiar examples. Musicians may excel individually as soloists, but their collective performances in ensembles often exceed the sum of the parts. For these networks to perform well, the participants must have sensors and know how to follow signaling protocols: good hearing, the ability to read music (symbols on paper), and the know-how to follow a conductor’s signals. During the Covid shutdowns, it was amusing to find ensembles performing their own parts at home that were synchronized remotely by video producers. That required another level of signaling: email instructions with sheet music, tuning checks and timing devices. Human networking is as old as language, civilization, and military operations.

Personal Experience

Networking was a major aspect of my career in IT. Users spent much of their day alone at their workstations, but they were all connected by cables or Wi-Fi to each other. Maintaining networks was not easy. Security policies demanded strict protocols to control access, avoid hackers, and limit access to foreign nationals on a “need to know” basis. This required extra layers of hardware (e.g., routers) with their own operating systems. Routers have their own programming languages and concepts, but with them as onramps to the internet, users at JPL were able to enjoy real-time communication with colleagues across America and in Europe. I administered team workstations in the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands, along with others in universities across the U.S. It was a complex but rewarding job.

Computer network signals are often “packetized” into chunks that are assembled on the receiving end, because the transmission channels (wired or wireless) share traffic with other networks. To send and receive data privately and accurately, each packet contains a header and footer providing metadata, indicating its source, destination, sequence number, and other information. Since the packets may take different routes through the internet, the receiver at the far end must be able to assemble the packets in order, and to request re-transmission for any lost packets. When a network path was down, the system had to be able to “buffer” the packets and resume transmission when the network was restored.

This method even worked across millions of miles of space….

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