Professor Ray Goldstein FRS is the Schlumberger Professor of Complex Physical Systems at the University of Cambridge. Here he describes a biological example of topological inversion, with relevance to engineering problems in human technology. The Royal Society hosted a worldwide scientific discussion meeting on 'Bioinspiration of new technologies' on Wednesday 27 May 2015, 8:30 am-6:00 pm, live video streamed from the Royal Society, London. Read more on the website: royalsociety.org/events/2015/05/bioinspiration-of-new-technologies/