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Greetings earthlings!
Every 4 years, around mid-June most of the planet goes into soccer frenzy while the US keeps itself strangely entertained with the NBA draft, summer picnics and graduations! FIFA world Cup 2018 is underway and the host country Russia's mascot for the games  is the goal-scoring wolf, Zabivaka.

But the true animal ambassador this year, is the soothsayer/mouse-slayer/museum-dweller cat Achilles. He resides in the St. Petersburg museum and has been designated the official psychic. He predicts the victors by choosing between two bowls of treats with flags above them. Check him out in action here:

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180613-how-algorithms-predict-the-winners-of-the-world-cup

I have a prediction too - with all the picking left to do, Achilles is going to be packing on some pounds before the world cup ends! 

Biomimetics or biomimicry

Biophysics is not so much a subject matter as it is a point of view. It is an approach to problems of biological science utilizing the theory and technology of the physical sciences. Conversely, biophysics is also a biologist's approach to problems of physical science and engineering, although this aspect has largely been neglected.

— Otto Herbert Schmitt, In Appreciation, A Lifetime of Connections: Otto Herbert Schmitt, 1913 - 1998

Orangutan

Orange Tabby

And now, a brief history of humans stealing(mimicking) from cats

“Cat Eye” Road Reflectors

On a foggy night in 1933, Percy Shaw was driving home along a dangerous stretch of road with a perilous, sheer drop off on one side. Drivers knew where the edge of the road was when their headlights reflected off of tram tracks, but the tracks had been removed for repairs. As Shaw strained to see through the blackness, his headlights caught the eyes of a cat sitting on a fence. As he pondered the possibility of replicating how a cat’s eyes reflect light, an idea took shape to make dark and dangerous roads safer for drivers. Shaw began manufacturing reflective road markers in 1935. Today reflective “cat eye” road studs are incorporated in roads worldwide.

AC Current

Nikola Tesla began his career working with Thomas Edison, but they had a falling out over which was more affordable, efficient and safer, DC current or AC current. Edison thought direct current was better, and Tesla championed alternating current. Tesla was right, and we have him to thank for how electricity is used today. A family feline inspired Tesla to learn about electricity when he was a kid. One day while petting his cat, Tesla was zapped with static electricity. That incident put him on the path to becoming one of the world’s most revolutionary and forward thinking scientists.

Honorable mentions:

•  Sensitive electronic (e-)whiskers pave the way for increased interaction between robots and their external environments.
• Boston robotics:  The cheetah-cub robot was designed by Swiss scientists to move like a cat. 
• Cats’ Tongues Are Inspiring Smarter Hairbrushes For Humans
• Thumbtacks based on cats' retractable claws

You are welcome, people!