Mechanical gears in jumping insects
The biological form of a mechanical gear was observed in nature in juvenile planthoppers (Genus: Issus), a common insect that can be found in gardens across Europe.
The insect has hind-leg joints with curved cog-like strips of opposing ‘teeth’ that intermesh, rotating like mechanical gears to synchronize the animal’s legs when it launches into a jump. The finding demonstrates that gear mechanisms previously thought to be solely man-made have an evolutionary precedent.
Source:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/functioning-mechanical-gears-seen-in-nature-for-the-first-time
#biodiversity #gears #coolcritters
very cool!
ReplyDeleteAnd on this interesting topic, fleas have ratchets to store energy for jumping
The link below provides information regarding manufacturing robotic muscles.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.3ders.org/articles/20160618-researchers-create-3d-printed-robotic-muscles-using-electroactive-polymer.html
Nature is perfect!
ReplyDeleteSean Ooghe No. Nature is not perfect. But they perfected through trial and error. Every day are dying billions of her failed experiments. But we see only those that have proven to be relatively good (in the given conditions).
ReplyDelete