biomechanics
- The kinematics of directional control in the fast start of zebrafish larvae
Summary: The 3D direction of an escape response by a larval zebrafish is correlated with the degree of body rotation in yaw and pitch.
- Why arboreal snakes should not be cylindrical: body shape, incline and surface roughness have interactive effects on locomotion
Highlighted Article: For snake locomotion, the effects of surface roughness and steepness are interactive and species dependent, partly because some species have specialized non-cylindrical shapes that facilitate catching small surface protrusions.
- Mechanical and energetic consequences of reduced ankle plantar-flexion in human walking
Summary: Ankle push-off plays an important role of the energy expenditure of human walking, which can be explained by the mechanical work performed by the lower extremity joints.
- Effect of shear forces and ageing on the compliance of adhesive pads in adult cockroaches
Summary: Experiments with transparent microstructured substrates show that the compliance of cockroach adhesive pads is age dependent and increases when shear forces are applied.
- Effects of acceleration on gait measures in three horse gaits
Summary: Acceleration affects gait measures during walk, trot and canter in horses – force angle, collision angle and fraction are promising tools for future research.
- The descent of ant: field-measured performance of gliding ants
Summary: Gliding ants exhibit variation in aerial righting phase duration, glide angle and trajectory directness, which are the principal determinants of ecologically relevant performance.
- Gait switches in deep-diving beaked whales: biomechanical strategies for long-duration dives
Highlighted Article: A new method for estimating the biomechanical parameters of swimming strokes from tag data reveals that beaked whales may increase efficiency by switching gaits during different phases of deep dives.
- Western and Clark's grebes use novel strategies for running on water
Highlighted article: As the largest water-running animals, western and Clark's grebes use three novel strategies to produce the hydrodynamic forces necessary to stay above the water surface.
- Feeding in billfishes: inferring the role of the rostrum from a biomechanical standpoint
Summary: Biomechanical differences derived from rostrum morphology and composition lead to species-specific feeding behavior in billfishes.
- Six degree-of-freedom analysis of hip, knee, ankle and foot provides updated understanding of biomechanical work during human walking
Highlighted article: Six degree-of-freedom (6DOF) analysis of hip–knee–ankle–foot better captures energy changes of the body during gait than conventional 3DOF joint work estimates, revealing increased work contributions from the hip.