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Published online 11 September 2000 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news000914-3

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Hover craft

Philip Ball looks into a new mathematical theory of insect flight that could help engineers copy flies' tricks to design new miniature flying machines.

A new mathematical theory of insect flight could help engineers copy flies' tricks to design new miniature flying machines. It is the first concrete explanation of how some insects can manipulate the flow of air around them so as to switch in an instant between darting motions and hovering stillness.

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