High-voltage catfish immune to their own shocks
Malapterurus beniensis may look like a harmless catfish lounging on the bottom of a tank, but these creatures are far from benign. Packing a powerful 300 V electric shock, the fish usually reserve their pyrotechnics for stunning prey. ‘We always wear thick rubber gloves when handling the fish’, chuckles Stefan Schuster from the University of Bayreuth, […]
Through a localized nanocrystallization process using surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT), a new method is proposed to build bistable and multistable metallic shells.
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Ocean water samples yield treasure trove of RNA virus data
Ocean water samples collected around the world have yielded a treasure trove of new data about RNA viruses, expanding ecological research possibilities and reshaping our understanding of how these small but significant submicroscopic particles evolved.
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Paper, High-ranking naked mole-rats are more resilient
Naked mole-rats not only look strange, they have a strange lifestyle, too: they spend their entire lives underground. They also feel very little pain, rarely develop cancer and are exceptionally long-lived for a rodent — living up to 37 years. All this makes the hairless burrow-dwellers prime candidates for scientific study.
For nearly 20 years, […]
Head on Collisions
Cockroaches often choose to have head on collisions with obstacles with vertical walls they mean to traverse in order to maintain top speed. They do this as opposed to avoiding a collisions to have a clean transitions up the wall and not perform any destructive acts. As […]
REGRowth
As amphibians go, axolotls are pretty cute. These salamanders sport a Mona Lisa half-smile and red, frilly gills that make them look dressed up for a party. You might not want them at your soiree, though: They’re also cannibals. While rare now in the wild, axolotls used to hatch en masse, […]
Paper, Shark spiral intestines may operate as Tesla valves
Abstract: Looking to nature for inspiration has led to many diverse technological
advances. The spiral valve intestine of sharks has provided the opportunity
to observe the efficiency of different valve systems. It is supposed that the
spiral intestine present in […]
Hydrogels have been extensively used in many fields. Current synthesis of functional hydrogels requires incorporation of functional molecules either before or during gelation via the pre-organized reactive site along the polymer chains within hydrogels, which is tedious for polymer synthesis and not flexible for different types of hydrogels. Inspired by sandcastle worm, we develop a […]
Researchers Joseph K. Hall, Craig P. McGowan† and David C. Lin conducted a study in February this year on the locomotive patterns and energy efficiencies of Desert Kangaroo Rats on different surfaces. The different surfaces should impose different mechanical demands on the rats’ muscle and skeletal structures, but tests have shown […]
This article details how a certain species of sea sponge naturally demonstrates a larger strength to weight ratio based on its composition compared to the lattice structure that is normally used to provide a strong foundation and support for buildings. As a result, researchers are now looking towards the sponge skeleton […]
When cities transform into a colorful world of lights as darkness falls, it’s often only possible to estimate their contours, which depending on the perspective can draw the attention to key details or trivia. In fluorescence microscopy, biological cells are marked with fluorescent dyes and excited to luminesce in specific areas […]
The biodiscovery studies the texture sensation in “different types of vertebrate limb by investigating touch and potential texture encoding mechanisms in the pectoral fins of fishes”. Through the article, the analysis provides evidence that the receptive field sizes of ifn ray afferents are small and afferents exhibit response properties to tactile […]
UCLA BioDesign Fellowship
UCLA Biodesign is pioneering healthcare innovation. Uniting stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem, UCLA Biodesign seeks to transform medicine through the development of novel technologies. Education and training are central to UCLA Biodesign’s mission. UCLA Biodesign works with industry partners and the medical community to advance solutions that deliver improved value and […]
Ants defend aphids against lethal disease
Aphis asclepiadis, protect aphid colonies from lethal fungal infections caused by an obligate aphid pathogen, Pandora neoaphidis. In field experiments, bodies of fungal-killed aphids were quickly removed from ant-tended aphid colonies. Ant workers were also able to detect infective conidia on the cuticle of living aphids and responded by either removing […]
Scientists have developed a promising new method to combat the age-related losses in muscle mass that often accompany immobility after injury or illness. Their technique, demonstrated in mice, arrests the process by which muscles begin to deteriorate at the onset of exercise after a period of inactivity.
Egyptian Fruit Bats Echolocate During the Day
Egyptian fruit bats are one of the 10 diurnal species among 1,400 bat species. Experts were surprised when they discovered that they use echolocation in broad daylight as other diurnal species rely rather on vision to avoid obstacles and forage during the day. The other species use echolocation when it’s dark […]
A Nacre-Inspired Structural Material for Plastic Replacement
Researchers at the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences, developed a sustainable replacement for plastic. With petroleum-based products posing an alarming threat to the environment, the design is inspired by nacre’s multiscale architecture and is fabricated with all-natural materials: cellulose nanofiber and mica microplatelets. The researchers use a “directional deforming assembly” method to manufacture a […]
Living Building Blocks
Scientists have made a prototype biocomposite blockade up of a blend of bacteria, fungi and feedstock that can be assembled into human-sized, living structures with self-healing and environmental sensing capabilities.
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A post-doctoral researcher with the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) has made an important step toward understanding how complex mixtures of biomolecular building blocks form self-organized patterns.
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A 12-week program where interns will sharpen their skills through a variety of experiences. At the end of the internship, interns will have gained valuable experience, an in-depth understanding of concepts taught in school, and a network to use in the future. This role is designed to challenge interns and contribute to their future careers.
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Cancer is one of the leading causes of human death, despite enormous efforts to explore cancer biology and develop anticancer therapies. The main challenges in cancer research are establishing an efficient tumor microenvironment in vitro and exploring efficient means for screening anticancer drugs to reveal the nature of cancer and develop […]
A new study compares the accumulation of mutations across many animal species and has shed new light on decades-old questions about the role of these genetic changes in ageing and cancer. Researchers found that despite huge variation in lifespan and size, different animal species end their natural life with similar numbers of genetic changes.
Navigation is a critical ability for animal survival and is important for food foraging, finding shelter, seeking mates and a variety of other behaviors. Given their fundamental role and universal function in the animal kingdom, it makes sense to explore whether space representation and navigation mechanisms are […]
Dubbed the Jellyfish Barge for its shape and translucency, this floating greenhouse is capable of growing its own food hydroponically and producing up to 150 liters of fresh drinking water per day. Even more beneficial is its low-cost, easy-to-assemble design that can be implemented in a variety of locations.
The Jellyfish […]
Researchers have been working to create a superhydrophobic surface that prevents ice accumulation. New fabrication methods have enabled this scientific breakthrough. This scientific discovery will help to save human lives by preventing ice accumulation in areas that are unsafe for ice accumulation.
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Nakata et al. show that mosquitos detect surfaces using the flow fields caused by the movement of their own wings, and proposed to use this in the navigation of human-made drones. Small changes in air flows can be detected with sensors and used […]
Recent biological studies on water strider insects revealed how they maintain stability and maneuver on the surface of water. While macroscale bodies use buoyancy, these very small insects use surface tension force to balance their weight on water. This paper proposes a biologically inspired miniature robot that […]
Zhongning Goji berries (ZNG), a DMM, are illegally adulterated in the market by adding non Zhongning goji berries (NZNG). Consequently, the development of biomarker(s) is necessary for proper identification of ZNG and NZNG. In this study, a nontargeted metabolomics approach based on ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass […]
Although bats can see, many species have evolved an unusual way to fly and hunt in the dark—echolocation. To do so, they emit ultrasonic sound waves that bounce off objects and navigate using the resulting echoes. Can this technique be used by people without sight? An innovative start-up in Kazakhstan, Sezual, […]
This research presents a control structure for an omni-wheel mobile robot (OWMR). The control structure includes the path planning module and the motion control module. In order to secure the robustness and fast control performance required in the operating environment of OWMR, a bio-inspired control method, brain limbic system (BLS)-based control, was applied. Based on […]
Beetle Spawns New Material
“The bumps, which attract water, are surrounded by waxy water-repelling channels. “That allows small amounts of moisture in the air to start to collect on the tops of the hydrophilic bumps, and it grows into bigger and bigger droplets,” Rubner said. “When it gets large, it overcomes the pinning force that […]
Scientists at Scripps Research have unveiled a new tissue-clearing method for rendering large biological samples transparent. The method makes it easier than ever for scientists to visualize and study healthy and disease-related biological processes occurring across multiple organ systems.
Described in a paper in Nature Methods on March 28, 2022, and […]
Bioinspired temporal supramolecular polymerization
Thriving natural systems precisely regulate their complex chemical organizations in space and time by recruitment of a complex network of fuel-driven, kinetically controlled, out-of-equilibrium transformations. Indeed this provides an active, adaptive and autonomous smart actions & functions. In contrast, synthetic systems exhibit simpler behavior owing to thermodynamically driven supramolecular polymerization with […]
The article is about biomicry shoes by Marieka Ratsma. They use a bird’s cranium structure to inspire the heel of the shoe. The connection between nature, function, and fashion is extremely interesting.
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News, Orb-weaver spider uses web to capture sounds
A study of orb weaver spiders finds their massive webs also act as auditory arrays that capture sounds, possibly giving spiders advanced warning of incoming prey or predators.
In experiments, the researchers found the spiders turned, crouched or flattened out in response to sounds, behaviors that spiders have been known to […]
Global temperatures are rising at an unprecedented rate, but environmental responses are often difficult to recognize and quantify. Long-term observations of plant phenology, the annually recurring sequence of plant developmental stages, can provide sensitive measures of climate change and important information for ecosystem […]
This article talks about the caterpillar, which can curl into a wheel and roll away when in danger. They can do so at incredibly high speeds, and they contain one of the “fastest self-propelled wheeling behaviors” in nature. Implementing the caterpillar’s rolling capabilities, scientists have been able to develop more efficient […]
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I imagine that the neurological circuits underlying these processes are governed by both 2d spacing maps with their brains as…
to reduce the impact of car accidents, it may be possible to study the force diverting physics of cockroaches to…
you see this type of head-bobbing stability in many avian creatures related to pigeons like chickens. the head ability to…
not like they taught horses how to run! this is an example of convergent evolution where both sea creatures and…
The brain functions in a similar way with neuronal connections. our brains are able to utilize the multiplicity of connections…