Topic description and stories

Stick insect

How stick insects honed friction to grip without sticking

19 Feb 2014

Scientists have discovered that, when upright, stick insects don’t stick. Instead, they deploy special hairy pads designed to create huge amounts of...

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Cog wheels connecting the hind legs of the plant hopper, Issus

Functioning ‘mechanical gears’ seen in nature for the first time

12 Sep 2013

Previously believed to be only man-made, a natural example of a functioning gear mechanism has been discovered in a common insect - showing that...

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