Propelled by chemical changes in surface tension, microrobots surfing across fluid interfaces lead researchers to new ideas.
General Physics
Oct 1, 2020
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Water striders spend all their life on the surface of water, and the secrets of their ability to "skate" on the water surface have been discovered more than a decade ago. It is only recently that scientists began to study ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 8, 2016
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5
Water striders' ability to walk and jump on the surfaces of ponds and lakes has long amazed curious observers—and inspired robot designers who want to mimic the bugs' talent. Now, scientists have measured for the first ...
Materials Science
Oct 19, 2016
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12
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that can cause big problems when they enter the water supply. One way my fluid dynamics lab explores microplastic movement is by studying how tiny water-walking insects are pushed ...
Soft Matter
Jan 23, 2024
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14
How do new species arise and diversify in nature? Natural selection offers an explanation, but the genetic and environmental conditions behind this mechanism are still poorly understood. A team led by Abderrahman Khila at ...
Evolution
Oct 19, 2017
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72
You probably do not find it surprising that humans, dogs or cats, can adjust their behavior based on the experience. For instance, we all move more slowly after we slide and fall on the ice when we learn ice-skating. A new ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 5, 2020
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While walking beside the creek in the Beijing Botany Garden one autumn, Yu Tian, a professor of mechanical engineering at Tsinghua University in China, noticed the beautiful shadows cast by water striders on the bottom of ...
Condensed Matter
Oct 17, 2016
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10
Anyone who has seen a lake or a small pond will have witnessed the evolutionary marvel of those curious insects that run over water with no trouble whatsoever, as if it were solid ground. An EU project is allowing ENS de ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 25, 2016
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