Biomechanics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    How fast can animals run? Here, the authors show that maximum running speed is limited by different musculoskeletal constraints across animal size: kinetic energy capacity in small animals, and work capacity in large animals.

    • David Labonte
    • , Peter J. Bishop
    •  & Christofer J. Clemente

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Criteria for evaluating joint articulation in vertebrates are lacking. Here, the authors propose an approach for combining measurements of 3D articular overlap, symmetry, and congruence into a single metric, and apply this to examine the walking stride of Deinonychus antirrhopus.

    • Armita R. Manafzadeh
    • , Stephen M. Gatesy
    •  & Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mechanisms by which aquatic animals optimize their tailbeat frequency for swimming have not been fully explained. Here, the authors propose scaling laws for undulatory swimmers, relating beat frequency to length considering muscle biology and fluid interaction.

    • Jesús Sánchez-Rodríguez
    • , Christophe Raufaste
    •  & Médéric Argentina

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors examine how body size, shape, and segment proportions correspond to ecology in models of 410 tetrapods. They find variable allometric relationships, differential scaling in small and large animals, and body proportions as a potential niche occupation mechanism.

    • Alice E. Maher
    • , Gustavo Burin
    •  & Karl T. Bates

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Navigation and trajectory planning in environments with background flow, relevant for robotics, are challenging provided information only on local surrounding. The authors propose a reinforcement learning approach for time-efficient navigation of a swimmer through unsteady two-dimensional flows.

    • Peter Gunnarson
    • , Ioannis Mandralis
    •  & John O. Dabiri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Shark teeth have short lifespans yet can be subject to significant mechanical damage. Here, the authors report on a site-specific damage mechanism in shark teeth enameloid, which maintains tooth functional shape, providing experimental evidence that tooth architecture may have influenced the diversification of shark ecologies over evolution.

    • Shahrouz Amini
    • , Hajar Razi
    •  & Peter Fratzl

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Recent work has suggested that lift and drag may be employed differently in slow, flapping flight compared to classic flight aerodynamics. Here the authors develop a method to measure vertical and horizontal aerodynamic forces simultaneously and use it to quantify lift and drag during slow flight.

    • Diana D. Chin
    •  & David Lentink

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biology serves as inspiration in materials development; this requires improved understanding of the surface chemistry responsible for processes which are being mimicked. Here, the authors report on the use of near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) imaging to analyze the surface chemistry of insect cuticle.

    • Joe E. Baio
    • , Cherno Jaye
    •  & Tobias Weidner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Vocal development in humans and primate model systems is typically attributed to changing neural circuits. Here the authors show in marmoset monkeys that biomechanical changes in the vocal organ underlie the transition from infant cries to adult contact calls, demonstrating that vocal development is not solely due to neural control.

    • Yisi S. Zhang
    • , Daniel Y. Takahashi
    •  & Coen P. H. Elemans

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Model-based centralization schemes, though able to quantify locomotion control in animals and bio-inspired robots, are limited to specific systems. Here, the authors report a generalized information-based centralization scheme that unifies existing models and can be applied to different systems.

    • Izaak D. Neveln
    • , Amoolya Tirumalai
    •  & Simon Sponberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Some animals have multimodal locomotive capabilities to survive in different environments. Inspired by nature, Chen et al. build a centimeter-scaled robot that is capable of walking on water, underwater, on land, and transiting among all three, whose ‘feet’ break water by modifying surface tension.

    • Yufeng Chen
    • , Neel Doshi
    •  & Robert J. Wood

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spider aggregate glue avoids failure in humid environments but the fundamental mechanism behind it is still unknown. Here, the authors demonstrate that humidity-dependent structural changes of glycoproteins and sequestering of liquid water by low molecular mass compounds prevents adhesion failure of the glue in humid environments.

    • Saranshu Singla
    • , Gaurav Amarpuri
    •  & Ali Dhinojwala

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Archaeopteryx had a mix of traits seen in non-flying dinosaurs and flying birds, leading to debate on whether it had powered flight. Here, Voeten et al. compare wing bone architecture from Archaeopteryx and both flying and non-flying archosaurs, supporting that Archaeopteryx had powered flight but with a different stroke than that of modern birds.

    • Dennis F. A. E. Voeten
    • , Jorge Cubo
    •  & Sophie Sanchez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Physical structure is known to contribute to the appearance of bird plumage through structural color and specular reflection. Here, McCoy, Feo, and colleagues demonstrate how a third mechanism, structural absorption, leads to low reflectance and super black color in birds of paradise feathers.

    • Dakota E. McCoy
    • , Teresa Feo
    •  & Richard O. Prum

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hummingbirds are known to defy the predicted scaling relationships between body and wing size. Here, Skandalis et al. develop a ‘force allometry’ framework to show that, regardless of wing size, hummingbird species have the same wing velocity during flight.

    • Dimitri A. Skandalis
    • , Paolo S. Segre
    •  & Douglas L. Altshuler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biomechanical understanding of animal gait and maneuverability has primarily been limited to species with more predictable, steady-state movement patterns. Here, the authors develop a method to quantify movement predictability, and apply the method to study escape-related movement in several species of desert rodents.

    • Talia Y. Moore
    • , Kimberly L. Cooper
    •  & Ramanarayan Vasudevan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Numerous selective forces shape animal locomotion patterns and as a result, different animals evolved to use different gaits. Here, Ramdyaet al. use live and in silicoDrosophila, as well as an insect-model robot, to gain insights into the conditions that promote the ubiquitous tripod gait observed in most insects.

    • Pavan Ramdya
    • , Robin Thandiackal
    •  & Dario Floreano

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How water striders escape from danger by jumping vertically from the water surface without sinking is an open question in biomechanics. Yanget al. show that water strider species with varying leg lengths and body masses tune their leg movements to maximize jump speeds without breaking the surface of the water.

    • Eunjin Yang
    • , Jae Hak Son
    •  & Ho-Young Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Swimming animals are generally assumed to generate forward thrust by pushing surrounding water rearwards. Here, Gemmell et al.show that efficient swimming in lampreys and jellyfish is achieved primarily through suction, as vortex-associated low pressure regions are synchronized by undulations of the body.

    • Brad J. Gemmell
    • , Sean P. Colin
    •  & John O. Dabiri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Physonect siphonophores are highly mobile jellyfish with complex colonial organization. Here, Costelloet al. show that division of labour among developmental stages controls the direction and propulsion of the colony, with older individuals providing thrust and younger individuals providing torque.

    • John H. Costello
    • , Sean P. Colin
    •  & Kelly R. Sutherland

  • Article |

    Mechanical strain causes bone remodelling when it exceeds threshold levels of a proposed ‘lazy zone’, in which bone density is unresponsive to mechanical strain. Here the authors show that human bone remodeling is entirely load-driven, suggesting that no such ‘lazy’ state exists for human bones.

    • Patrik Christen
    • , Keita Ito
    •  & Bert van Rietbergen

  • Article |

    Animal propulsors—wings and fins—typically bend during motion. Here, the authors analysed video data on animal propulsor bending and find that, for propulsion within inertially dominated flows, the flexion angles and the positions of the point of flexion are similar across the animal kingdom.

    • Kelsey N. Lucas
    • , Nathan Johnson
    •  & John H. Costello

  • Article |

    Muscle power limits animal speed, but the extent of the effect is unknown. Here the authors examine the relationship between swimming speed, size and muscle function in the aquatic frog Xenopus laevis, and find that muscle–environmental interactions vary with body size, limiting muscle power and swimming speed.

    • Christofer J. Clemente
    •  & Christopher Richards

  • Article |

    Undulating flight, an efficient mode of locomotion in flying birds, can theoretically also result in efficient locomotion in water. Here we demonstrate gait patterns resembling undulating flight in four marine vertebrate species comprising sharks and pinnipeds.

    • Adrian C. Gleiss
    • , Salvador J. Jorgensen
    •  & Rory P. Wilson

  • Article |

    Seahorses evolved from pipefish, which have a remarkably different body shape. Here, by examining seahorse feeding behaviour and using a mathematical model, Van Wassenberghet al. demonstrate that the head, neck and trunk posture of the seahorse allows for the effective capture of their prey.

    • Sam Van Wassenbergh
    • , Gert Roos
    •  & Lara Ferry

  • Article |

    The emergence of bipedalism in humans is considered to be an evolutionary challenge. In this study, however, the authors show that humans, dogs and chickens create a virtual pivot point above their centre of mass during walking, thereby mimicking an external support.

    • H.-M. Maus
    • , S.W. Lipfert
    •  & A. Seyfarth

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