If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then surely it's time nature headed to the patent office. From the earliest days of aviation, and well before that, we have looked to birds for inspiration in the design of flying machines. Continuing this eternal trend, USA Today reports on a new batch of bird and flying bug subtleties inspiring recent and new aviation innovations such as:

• Winglets – from outstretched eagle wing tips
• Rudderless aircraft – birds are rudderless yet stable and highly maneuverable
• Morphing wings – birds constantly change their wing shapes during flight to optimize lift and drag
• Noise reduction – owls have special fringe feathers on the trailing edges of their wings that help them silently stalk prey

As Terry Weisshaar, an aeronautics professor at Purdue University says, "Nature doesn't have a copyright," thankfully.

Where Apple leads Microsoft is sure to follow, and therefore it should be no surprise that rumors abound surrounding a Zune based phone. While nothing is certain the evidence mounts that Microsoft is developing a mobile VoIP phone for WiMAX. CrunchGrear speculates that the phone might be announced before March 17 and launched in May, thus beating Apple's iPhone to market. Zune marketing manager, Chris Stephenson, was quoted last September saying, "the entire Zune platform and brand is about a family of devices. So to the degree that phones and other products exist in the family going forward, absolutely, that's definitely where this is all going."

Sir Richard Branson is offering a $25 million prize to anyone who invents a way to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The Virgin Earth Challenge as it will be known is part of Branson's commitment to spend 100% of Virgin's airline and train proceeds, estimated to total $3 billion over 10 years. Making the announcement with 'Inconvenient Truth' star and former Vice President, Al Gore, Branson said, "Man created the problem and therefore man should solve the problem". Only $2.975 billion to go...

Richard Branson's sub-orbital space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, is considering a second launch site in Europe. Already committed to Spaceport America near Upham, New Mexico, USA, Virgin Galactic is in early talks with the Swedish company, Spaceport, to provide sub-orbital flights from Kiruna airport, Sweden. Attracted by the prospect of flying through the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, the first flights could occur in 2011.

NASA chief, Michael Griffin, challenged Britain to rekindle its adventurous spirit by joining NASA in its quest to explore the Moon and Mars. Griffin likened NASA's current mission to the maritime exploits of British pioneering explorers, Francis Drake and Captain Cook.

Never ones to give up easily after their failed Mars mission, British scientists are hoping to try again with a series of robotic missions to the dark side of the moon by 2010. Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon was also themed on exploration, though of the human condition, but I digress. One mission - MoonRaker - will look for possible moon base sites. Who could resist naming a space mission after a Bond movie? Let's hope the spacecraft is more durable than the one in the movie. They are probably saving the other obvious TV show reference - Moonbase Alpha from Space 1999 - for the base itself.