When Charles Parsons invented the steam turbine in 1884, it was a monumental advance. More than a century later, engineers are still relying on steam to operate the turbines that generate much of the world’s power. Perhaps it’s about time to take the technology to the next level.

One way to do that is to draw inspiration from the human body. That’s exactly what Peter deBock and his colleagues at GE Research in Niskayuna, New York, did: They devised a heat exchanger — an essential component of the cooling system of a power turbine — that mimics human lungs.