The seeds that drop from maple trees each fall, whirring softly to the ground like silent one-winged helicopters, are the inspiration for a new kind of flying machine that could be useful for military information-gathering.

Electronics - Robotics

Aug 15, 2011 4.3 / 5 (12) 39

Global warming is already affecting the earth in a variety of ways that demand our attention. Now, research carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem indicates that many tree species might become ...

Biology - Ecology

Jan 24, 2011 4 / 5 (4) 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Maple tree seeds (or samara fruit) and the spiraling pattern in which they glide to the ground have delighted children for ages and perplexed engineers for decades. Now aerospace engineering ...

Technology - Engineering

Oct 20, 2009 4.3 / 5 (15) 4

The twirling seeds of maple trees spin like miniature helicopters as they fall to the ground. Because the seeds descend slowly as they swirl, they can be carried aloft by the wind and dispersed over great ...

Biology - Biotechnology

Jun 11, 2009 4.8 / 5 (8) 0