Why a robot can’t yet outjump a flea. Duke Today, April 26, 2018. Smashing mantis shrimp. Snapping trap-jaw ants. Stinging jellyfish. Some of the fastest living things — at least over short distances — are also the smallest. A new mathematical model explores how the smallest and speediest things on Earth generate their powerful jumps, snaps, strikes and punches. The model could help explain why robots can’t hold a candle to the fastest-moving insects and other tiny-but-powerful creatures, and how they could get closer. Picked up by Scientific American, Wired, Popular Mechanics, Quartz and Tech Times.
Category Archives: frogs
Coping with climate change
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Coping with climate change. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, May 11, 2011. Can we predict which species will be able to move far or fast enough to keep up with rising global temperatures? A new study says the secrets to success in the face of a warming world are still elusive.
Toxic frogs are more physically fit
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Treadmill tests for poison frogs prove toxic species are more physically fit. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, March 29, 2011. The most toxic, brightly colored members of the poison frog family may also be the best athletes. Story picked up by Wired Science, Discovery Channel, and MSNBC News.