Biological fluid dynamics is a research area that applies the principles and methods of fluid mechanics to analyze flows generated by, within, or around living organisms across scales from subcellular to ecological. It investigates how fluid properties, boundary conditions, and flexible or actuated biological structures interact to determine transport, locomotion, feeding, signaling, and morphogenesis in systems such as blood circulation, ciliary flows, microorganism swimming, plant transpiration, and animal flight or swimming. The field integrates continuum mechanics, low- and high-Reynolds-number hydrodynamics, nonlinear dynamics, and computational modeling with experiments to elucidate biophysical mechanisms and to inform biomedical and bioinspired engineering applications.
In a surprising discovery, a new study reveals that among seven species of baleen whales, only the humpback is capable of the high-performance turns required for its signature bubble-net feeding strategy. The research, led ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 19, 2025
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Poohsticks, the game in which Piglet and Winnie the Pooh throw sticks into the river from one side of a bridge, and then rush over to the other side to see whose stick appears first, is all about current flow. Disappointingly, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 19, 2025
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For months, Sabrina Staples stared at a silicone chip no bigger than a postage stamp, trying to coax cells into doing something remarkable. But every time she loaded her delicate microfluidic device with cells, a single rogue ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 12, 2025
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We all remember the advice frequently repeated during the COVID pandemic: maintain six feet of distance from every other human when waiting in a line to avoid transmitting the virus. While reasonable, the advice did not take ...
Soft Matter
Aug 6, 2025
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Two recent studies by Professor Stefano Profumo at the University of California, Santa Cruz, propose theories that attempt to answer one of the most fundamental open questions in modern physics: What is the particle nature ...
General Physics
Aug 4, 2025
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Prof. Michael Murrell's group (lead author Zachary Gao Sun, graduate student in physics) in collaboration with Prof. Garegin Papoian's group from the University of Maryland at College Park has found critical phenomena (self-organized ...
General Physics
Jul 28, 2025
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The efficiency of quantum computers, sensors and other applications often relies on the properties of electrons, including how they are spinning. One of the most accurate systems for high-performance quantum applications ...
Quantum Physics
Jul 22, 2025
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Air rings blown by dolphins swimming underwater and rings of smoke emitted by jet engines are just two examples of vortex rings. These doughnut-shaped structures and their mesmerizing movement have been studied for decades ...
General Physics
Jul 22, 2025
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Scientists have discovered a previously unrecognized way that human airways protect lungs from infection—through the action of cilia, tiny hair-like structures lining the respiratory tract.
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 14, 2025
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Exciting new research is investigating how boobies (birds of the genus Sula) may be able to reduce the potentially lethal impact of their high-speed vertical dives by creating a cushion of "supercavitation" bubbles upon impact ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 10, 2025
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