New 'bionic' leg gives amputees a natural gait

A new lower-limb prosthetic developed at Vanderbilt University allows amputees to walk without the leg-dragging gait characteristic of conventional artificial legs.

Short heels make elite sprinters super speedy

What is it about elite sprinters that gives them the edge over non-sprinters in the 100m dash? Stephen Piazza from the Pennsylvania State University publishes his discovery, in The Journal of Experimental Biology, that the ...

Botflies and the perils of scientific research

At first, Chris Dick thought the persistent ache in his ankle was caused by a thorn embedded in his skin. Made sense, seeing as he had done some work on a Pennsylvania farm around that time. An X-ray revealed nothing unusual, ...

Ankle and foot evolution gave mammals a leg up

The evolution of ankle and foot bones into different shapes and sizes helped mammals adapt and thrive after the extinction of the dinosaurs, a study suggests.

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