I magine being able to maintain a perfect temperature and humidity in your home year round, without spending a single yen in electricity or gas bills. That's exactly what Professor Emile Ishida of Tohoku University in northern Japan is striving to achieve — and he got the idea from termites.

After all, as any zoologist will tell you, Macrotermes michaelseni, termites that are native to parts of Africa, maintain just such a perfectly controlled environment inside their nests despite outside temperatures that can fluctuate from near freezing to 40 degrees and beyond.

Unlike most termites found in Japan and many other temperate parts of the world, M. michaelseni cannot directly digest the wood and other plant material they harvest. Instead, they build towering nests of soil where they use the chewed-up plant material to 'farm" a type of fungus. This fungus, which the termites eat, requires a stable 30.5-degree environment in which to grow. Consequently, the termites have evolved their unique ventilation system: Air enters at the base of the nest, circulates through cool chambers underground, and finally flows out at the top of the tower, cooling the nest as it goes. The termites open and close vents throughout the day to keep the temperature even.